Colorblind
by Mayushii
Summary: SAISEI #4. "See this? It's a powder compact. See this? It's a guy. Do YOU know any guys who carry around powder compacts?" A rewrite of the Four Beasts miniarc. WARNING: This story is subject to plot coherency, mythological accuracy, and characters acting like they would in canon. :P Yusuke/Keiko, Hiei/Kurama and other pairings.
1. Communications Failure

Colorblind

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Hello! Welcome to another installment of the **Yu Yu Hakusho Saisei Project**, my rewrite of the Yu Yu Hakusho series. This one takes place during the Four Beasts miniarc, but it isn't a rewrite of the whole case. It's just a collection of additional or altered scenes. Since these are all pretty short, I'll upload one chapter every few days until we get to the end.

-This is #4 in the Saisei series. It comes between #3 (_Two Step Forward, One Steps Back_) and #5 (_Red Lantern_). Other titles in this series include #1 (_No Sign of Life_), #2 (_That Which Comes Between Two Mountains_), and #6 (_Beyond the Warded Window_).

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><p>"Communications Failure"<p>

"Here! I'm supposed to give you this Communication Mirror!" Botan announced proudly.

Yusuke took the newest detective tool from Botan and turned it this way and that. It was a purple compact, round and about the size of his hand. He flipped the compact open and stared blankly at the contents.

"The mirror is a screen. The powder is fake; lift it up and you can access the buttons. The speaker and microphone are under the applicator," Botan explained. "What do you think? It's the latest stroke of genius from Spirit World!"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, _very_ clever disguise!" Yusuke said with an air of false agreement. "Just one problem. See this?" He used one finger to draw a circle in the air around the detective tool. "It's a powder compact." Then he drew a circle around his own face. "See this? It's a guy. Do you know any guys who carry around powder compacts?"

Botan pouted.

"I guess you're right," she admitted. Then she beamed manically and pushed Yusuke toward the portal. "But there's no time to worry about that now! Just take it with you, we'll change it when you get back!"

"What?" Yusuke struggled valiantly, but man did Botan have a strong arm. "No frigging way, I'm not using this girly-ass thing in front of Kuwabara! What are people gonna say if they see me running around with makeup in my pocket!"

"Yusuke—will you just—" Botan gave Yusuke one last, hard shove. "—_quit_ being a baby!" The Spirit Detective tripped into the portal and yelled long and loud as he fell through the green mist between dimensions. Botan called after him. "Now go take out those Beasts! You've got a little under a week before the Makai insects infect everyone in town, so we're counting on you!"

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><p><em>End part 1 of "Colorblind"<em>


	2. We Are Team Urameshi!

Colorblind

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Here is the next scene. Our four heroes meet for the first time.

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><p>"We Are Team Urameshi!"<p>

Yusuke and Kuwabara covered their eyes as the strange spheres burst, sending a flash of energy over the hillside. The area was flooded by magenta and green light, and suddenly the dead grass was transforming into three-foot spikes and green flames were blazing along in every direction. There were high-pitched shrieks from the fugaki and a stampede of tiny trampling feet. When Yusuke and Kuwabara dared to look, the starving imps were gone and the light had concentrated into two glowing humanoids. _Oh great, _Yusuke thought._ First demons, now aliens?_

"It looks like we got here just in time," said the magenta shape. The voice made Yusuke raise his head curiously. Weird. He thought he recognized that voice…

"Truly pathetic. If you can't handle these lowlifes, we're in for some serious trouble." Yusuke recognized that one, too.

"Hey! Who are you?" he called. There was a pause.

"You don't know?"

The light dimmed to reveal the flesh-and-blood forms of two very familiar youkai.

"Well, you aren't aliens!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"Hello to you, too," Kurama chuckled. "It's been a while."

"Yep, sure has," Yusuke agreed. "When did you two get out?"

"Who the heck are they?" Kuwabara wondered.

"Oh, they're the youkai thieves who tried to kill me on my first case," Yusuke said nonchalantly. "That's Kurama, and his name is Hiei." He sprang forward and stared at them both, stroking his chin. "So what are you doing here, anyway? Wait—did Koenma send you?"

"Obviously." Hiei rolled his eyes. "You didn't actually think you could take on all four Saint Beasts by yourselves, did you?"

"Um… No, that's just crazy," Yusuke said. It wasn't a lie, either. He'd even complained about how stupid it was to send one Spirit Detective to fight an entire city. He just hadn't expected Koenma to _do_ anything about it. "But why you? Aren't you convicted criminals? And Koenma didn't know Dufus here was tagging along, so it would have been the two of you and little ol' me, alone in the demon world. Not that I don't trust you or anything, but what's to stop you from gutting me like a fish and running off into the wild red yonder?"

Kurama raised an eyebrow.

"Aside from basic human decency," an explanation that made Yusuke snort with disbelief, "and the fact that we owe you our lives—"

"Hmph…" Hiei frowned and looked at the ground, but he didn't try to argue.

"—the benefits of helping you outweigh the benefits of killing you. Given the circumstances behind our crimes and the fact that we caused relatively little damage, we aren't considered a threat. So as long as we do our 'community service' here, we're in good standing. Why kill you and spend the rest of our lives as outlaws when we could just help you out?"

"Huh. Well, since you put it that way…" Yusuke shrugged. "All right, what the hell. Welcome to the Urameshi Team, folks." As they began to walk side-by-side toward the castle, Yusuke muttered under his breath. "Spirit World has some pretty messed-up ideas of community service. Whatever happened to picking up trash along the highway…?"

While Kurama was looking at Yusuke out of the corner of his eye and listening to his comments, he caught sight of Kuwabara on Yusuke's other side. He blinked, turned fully and gave the taller human a friendly smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

Hiei's face went blank as he stared at Kurama, then looked to Kuwabara for his response.

"Me? I'm Kazuma Kuwabara, Sarayashiki High's Number 1!" the delinquent proclaimed.

Yusuke scoffed at the false title, but Kurama was looking at Kuwabara with sudden interest.

"Oh, really? That's very impressive! I'm first in my school, too—Meiou Private Academy. What sort of program are you in?"

Kuwabara's expression made it all too clear he was lost. He was caught somewhere between surprise that someone actually believed his claim, incredulity that this flimsy-looking guy was his school's number one fighter, and plain old confusion at what Kurama meant by _program_.

"I'm in my school's biology program," Kurama offered. "I'd like to go into environmental studies, working with plants."

Hiei's blank face was starting to darken ominously.

"Oh, you mean what am I studying?" Kuwabara said, bewildered. "Uh, I dunno…biology? I was kinda thinking of becoming a cat doctor…"

Kurama looked pleased by this news, which was the last straw for Hiei. The little youkai succinctly stepped sideways, joining Yusuke in the middle so to put more distance between Kurama and Kuwabara. That accomplished, Hiei sent a sulky look up at Kurama. Kuwabara saw the smile Kurama gave in return and interpreted it (correctly) as kind, placating, and just a little bit condescending. He then guessed (so very, very wrongly) that Hiei was a much younger boy.

"Whatsamatter, Little Guy?" Kuwabara asked with an appropriately kid-friendly air. "Don't worry, we aren't gonna leave you behind." And he reached past Yusuke to pat Hiei on the head.

The fact that Hiei didn't slice Kuwabara's hand off altogether said good things about his mental state.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!" Kuwabara shrieked, clutching his twisted wrist. Yusuke put his hands in his pockets and watched as Kuwabara hopped around in frantic circles. Kurama, meanwhile, was giving his partner a stern look.

"Hiei, we discussed this. We don't hurt our teammates…"

"Tell him to keep his hands to himself, then," Hiei said obstinately.

"Yeahhh, you might wanna not touch Hiei," Yusuke told Kuwabara. "He can get kind of violent."

"YOU COULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING SOONER!"

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><p>At the top of Maze Castle, the Four Saint Beasts stared at the image in their crystal globe.<p>

They were, understandably, unimpressed.

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><p><em>AN: I've always wondered what made Hiei and Kuwabara dislike each other so much. I've also wondered why Kurama took to Kuwabara so quickly in the series. I put the two together and came up with this scene. Hope you liked it. :P_


	3. Welcome to Maze Castle

Colorblind

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: By special request, here is the Gate of Betrayal scene…minus the Gate of Betrayal. Please don't hit me, just wait for the next chapter! I swear there is a reason I wrote it this way instead.

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><p>"Welcome to Maze Castle"<p>

"Oh, now this looks homey," Yusuke said, staring at the front entrance of the castle. It was a huge, sculpted gargoyle mouth that led into a dark tunnel. "Some paint here, a few hydrangeas there, this place would be prime real estate."

"Maybe we should try and find another way in," Kuwabara suggested, unexpectedly astute. He looked to Kurama for feedback. "Walking through the front door seems kinda stupid, right?"

"So you _do_ have a brain," Hiei commented with genuine surprise.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Runt-Boy!"

"Actually, at this point it won't matter," Kurama said mildly. "The Four Beasts will already know we're coming, so any attempts at a stealthy entrance would be in vain."

Kuwabara deflated slightly, and Yusuke smirked. So much for making a good impression.

"Well then, I guess we're just gonna walk right in," Yusuke concluded. "Works for me!"

Yusuke strode fearlessly into the castle, followed by Kuwabara, Hiei and Kurama. As soon as they were inside, the gargoyle's black iron eyes swirled with red light. A heavy portcullis made of black iron rolled down from the top of the gargoyle's mouth, shrieking shut, and a ki barrier shone red for a moment before fading. No turning back now.

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><p>There was no end in sight, and Yusuke was starting to get bored. Seriously, he had seen amusement park rides that were scarier than this.<p>

"Hey Kurama, what do you know about these Four Saint Beasts?" Yusuke asked, listening to his own shoes echoing on the stone floor and wondering why it sounded off. "Botan pushed us into that portal like a couple of cows and I didn't have a chance to ask her."

"She wouldn't have told you much, I'm afraid. Like all bad memories, Spirit World has tried to forget this place ever existed." Kurama's eyes darkened grimly. "That was a mistake. They should have dealt with this problem long ago, rather than let the Beasts grow strong enough to mount an assault. In this world, you must take no prisoners."

Hiei glanced at Kurama, a small smirk on his face. Fortunately, no one else noticed his look of appreciation.

"Isn't that kind of—?" Kuwabara started to say, but Yusuke suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Anyone else hear that?" he asked edgily.

"Hear what?"

"Stop talking and listen, Stupid!" Yusuke looked around at the stone walls. "It's a grinding sound. Like rocks scraping together…" Having looked at the floor and walls and determined that they were not the source of the noise, Yusuke frowned. He turned his eyes to the ceiling. "…Okay, this might just be my imagination, but does that look closer to anyone else?"

Hiei's eyes darted to the place where the ceiling met the wall. It was sinking—barely an inch per minute, but it _was_ sinking. And there was still no exit in sight.

"Yusuke… We should run," Hiei said, eerily calm. "Now."

And then Hiei darted forward, so fast that he was invisible to the untrained eye. Yusuke didn't hesitate to follow. Kurama started to run after them, trailed by Kuwabara.

"Why are we running?" Kuwabara yelled to Kurama, the only person he could still see.

"The ceiling is collapsing!" Kurama answered.

"What?" Kuwabara looked up. The ceiling had sped its descent, dropping nearly twice as quickly now. "Holy _crap!_"

"No time to panic, Kuwabara! Just keep running!" Kurama advised.

* * *

><p>Far ahead, Hiei and Yusuke were racing toward a faint light. Yusuke might have breathed a sigh of relief, if he had any breath to spare. As it was, he was gasping and panting and couldn't have spoken if he tried.<p>

Once the light solidified into shapes, Yusuke realized that there wasn't just one exit—there were three. There was a large center archway, a medium-sized arch to the left and a smaller arch to the right. Hiei didn't waste a moment to think about which he wanted to take. He ran through the medium arch, and Yusuke had only a second to follow him before a loud clang sounded behind him. They skidded to a stop in front of a wall. A glance to the left showed that the corridor led to a set of upward steps.

"H-ha… Ho-ly Hell," Yusuke panted, propping himself up with his hands on his knees. "We safe?"

"As safe as we can be in this castle." Hiei was frowning as he examined the black grille that had fallen behind them. A faint reddish glow filled the spaces between the bars. "There's a ki barrier here. We won't be able to go back."

"But how are Kuwabara and Kurama gonna get through?" Yusuke asked.

"They're not."

"So what are we supposed to do, just leave them!"

"For now, yes," Hiei said testily, stalking toward the stairs. "We can't get through here, so I suggest we move forward. Hopefully, they will get out of there alive."

"You're a real piece of work, you know that," Yusuke glowered. Hiei didn't answer.

The ceiling just kept quietly grinding down.

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><p>"I can see light ahead!" Kurama called behind him. "We're nearly there!"<p>

"Oh, thank God," Kuwabara groaned. He had been forced to stoop so he wouldn't hit his head on the ceiling, and he was starting to get a crick in his neck. It didn't help that the ceiling was falling faster by the second.

"I don't think God has anything to do with it," Kurama said dryly. He could make out the three doorways at the end of the tunnel. The one on the left was already blocked by an iron grille and a translucent red barrier. He narrowed his eyes at the two remaining arches, calculating quickly. "Kuwabara, take the one to the right. Don't try to follow me."

"Uh…?" But Kurama had suddenly picked up his pace, leaving Kuwabara behind so he could run straight through the largest of the archways. Kuwabara yelped. "Hey, wait for me!"

Kuwabara tried to catch up, but another grille clanged down to block the arch Kurama had taken. The ceiling was coming down faster than ever, and Kuwabara was bent so low he was nearly crawling. He dove through the only remaining arch, landing flat on his face. He had just enough time to push himself up from the floor before the ceiling rumbled to a stop.

"Oh man… That was close," Kuwabara said to himself. He climbed to his feet, staring at the blocked entryway with wide eyes. Then he looked at the corridor he had picked. It curved to the right and led to a set of steps. "Guess I have to go that way."

He started to walk along his chosen path.

Four floors above, Yusuke and Hiei were making their way up their own stairs. Kurama's corridor had no steps; it merely widened to accommodate a number of doors on either side.

Each of the paths—which ended on the fifth, ninth and ground levels, respectively—led to the same room. It was large and round and ceilingless, with over a dozen doorways lining the wall at varying heights. Most of the doors opened up to balconies that encircled the room. The highest door, which Yusuke and Hiei had taken, had a catwalk that stretched across the open air and led to a doorway on the other side.

"I guess this is why they call it Maze Castle," Yusuke thought aloud, looking down (and down, and down). He blinked when he saw a familiar figure standing on the magnificently colored floor. "Hey! Kurama, up here!"

"Yusuke, Hiei! Are you all right?" Kurama called up to them. Hiei's tense shoulders visibly loosened, which almost made Yusuke smile. He had been worried, after all. Good to know.

"Yeah, we're just peachy! How about you?"

"Fine!"

"I suppose that fool died, then?" Hiei called.

"Oh, I bet you'd like that!" Kuwabara yelled angrily, shaking his fist from his balcony on the fifth floor. "This is stupid. Why'd they make so many doors for one room?"

"It's an entertainment hall," Kurama answered. "Those balconies are where the spectators would stand."

"How can you tell?" Yusuke asked.

Kurama looked warily at the floor beneath his feet. It was too high up for the humans to distinguish, but Kurama's nose wrinkled at the smell of it. The masterpiece of a floor was _not_ made of some multi-hued stone. It was covered, every inch, with dried blood. Kurama's mind was barraged with flashes of youkai, fighting and dying and spilling blood in every color and shade imaginable.

"Call it intuition."

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><p><em>And that's the end of that chapter. I hope it was to your liking. Next time: Beautiful Dance of the Rose! The Elegant Kurama. The other world's not watching for nothing! :P<em>


	4. Dance of Rose and Lotus: Kurama vs Genbu

Colorblind

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Here is the next chapter! Sorry for the wait, but I've been having trouble getting time on the computer. I didn't get to polish this nearly as much as I would like… Oh well. I think there have been more than enough delays for this chapter already, so it gets posted as-is.

-Before we get to it, I should give fair warning that the fight scenes aren't based on the anime and manga. It always bothered me that the Four Beasts didn't actually line up with their origin lore, so I rebuilt the fights from the ground up. I ended up **redesigning the Beasts** a little bit, too, because their physical appearances were too connected with the powers the manga gave them.**  
><strong>

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><p>"Dance of Rose and Lotus"<p>

Yusuke stared down into the hall, eyes flicking from door to door.

"So what are we supposed to do now? There have gotta be twenty doors here," he frowned. His eyes wandered from the sixth floor to the fifth. Catching sight of Kuwabara, Yusuke suddenly had an idea. "Hey, Ghost Whisperer! You got that whole spirit awareness thing going for you. Which way do you think we should go?"

"I dunno. My awareness is acting really weird," Kuwabara answered, throwing a nice fat wrench into Yusuke's genius plan. "I'm trying, but I'm not getting anything." In his mind's eye, the enormous hall was shrouded by dark mist. Just looking at it made him feel cold.

"Great. Your powers sure picked a good time to crap out," Yusuke grumbled. Kurama, however, did not look at all surprised.

"Kuwabara, can you describe exactly what's wrong? Have you lost the ability to sense anything at all? Or do you feel that your spiritual awareness is clouded—that you are sensing so much that you can't distinguish the correct path?"

Kuwabara scratched his cheek. "Uh, cloudy, I guess…"

Kurama's eyes narrowed as he turned his attention to the large, pitch-black archway across from him. He swept a hand through his hair and came back with his fist clenched.

"Is it me, or does Kurama look a little tense?" Yusuke commented, trying not to sound too worried.

"What do you think? Something nearby is giving off enough energy to interfere with spirit awareness," Hiei said flatly.

"You don't mean…?"

A strange sound made Yusuke freeze. It was like the long, low moan of a whale, echoing on the stone and rattling dust from the walls around them. Yusuke felt the sound travel right up his spine, ending at the base of his brain and making him shudder. It felt like an ice cube had just slid down his back.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Yusuke asked, surprised by the way his breath caught in his throat.

"It sounded like a dinosaur!" Kuwabara shouted.

"Don't be stupid, Kuwabara, dinosaurs are extinct!" Yusuke paused and turned to Hiei intently. "Right? They are extinct here, too, right? Tell me that's not a dinosaur."

Hiei gnashed his teeth irritably. "It is _not_—"

But he was drowned out by Kuwabara's squeal of fright. An enormous head had emerged from the entryway below. Dark blue and reminiscent of a snake, the head was encrusted by orange eyes with slitted pupils. For a split second Yusuke's brain screeched to a halt and all he could think was: _Holy crap it's a freaking __**dinosaur**_. A long neck appeared next, pushing out of the archway and rising—up, up, up, stretching all the way to the third floor balcony. Yusuke was so busy staring at the head and neck that it took him a moment to notice that they led down to a huge, slick black shell and flipper-like appendages. It wasn't a dinosaur at all.

"That's a turtle," Yusuke said. He promptly gave himself a mental kick for sounding so stupid.

"Genbu, Black Beast of the Water," Hiei explained, making Yusuke feel even dumber. "Kurama lucked out."

Yusuke was just about to ask how being faced with a tyrannosaurus turtle was lucky when the room was filled with loud, hissing laughter. Yusuke looked back down at Genbu and gulped. Those beady orange eyes were focused on him, round and unblinking.

"THREE PATHS, FOUR TRESPASSERS. ONE OF YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN CRUSHED TO DEATH. THAT ALL FOUR OF YOU MANAGED TO ESCAPE IS MOST IMPRESSIVE," Genbu boomed, amusement in the Beast's slithering voice. "BUT FOR ONE OF YOU, THE JOURNEY ENDS HERE." Genbu's head swiveled away from Yusuke, turning instead to the only member of the team within reach. Kurama bent at the knees, poised to defend with his clenched fist raised in front of him. "YOU CHOSE THE WRONG PATH, LITTLE ONE."

Kurama smiled wryly.

"Whether the path is right or wrong depends on what you hope to find at the end," he said. It made a corner of Hiei's mouth twitch upward. _I thought so…_

"YOU WANTED TO FIND THE WAY DEEPER INTO THE CASTLE, DIDN'T YOU?" the Tortoise presumed. "YOUR TWO FRIENDS AT THE TOP HAVE FOUND IT. HOW SAD IT IS, BUT THEY CANNOT HELP YOU NOW. THEIR CHOICES NOW ARE TO WATCH AS I TEAR YOU APART, OR TO LEAVE YOU HERE TO DIE ALONE!"

Kurama's eyes glittered. "Thanks for the clue. We might never have found our way without it." Kurama moved the thumb of his closed fist, revealing a green-black stem topped by a red rosebud. As Yusuke watched, the bud gracefully opened its petals. With a snap of Kurama's arm, the rose lengthened to nearly five meters. He drew it back and expertly caught the thin, dark, thorn-laden Rose Whip in both hands.

"Shall we, then?" Kurama said.

Genbu's head reared back like a snake poised to strike.

"Oh my gosh, I can't look!" Kuwabara yelped, covering his eyes with one hand. He peeked through his fingers not a second later.

To everyone's surprise, Genbu didn't attack with its head. A long tail lashed out instead, and Kurama didn't even blink before leaping over it. Yusuke had no time to voice his admiration as the tail swept back in the opposite direction. Kurama easily performed a backwards handspring over the tail. On the third pass he flipped forward.

"What the hell is he doing?" Yusuke growled through his teeth, watching anxiously as the nimble figure below continued to dodge. "He's gonna get killed! Damn it, why did he have to pick the wrong door?"

"You've missed the point, Detective," Hiei said steadily.

"Oh, there was a point?" Yusuke asked, voice thick with sarcasm.

"Didn't you hear Kurama earlier? The Beasts are a threat that should be dealt with directly. Snatching the Makai Whistle might stop this invasion, but as long as the Beasts survive, they can always regroup." Hiei's eyes darkened. "Kurama knows the only real way to complete this mission is to kill the Beasts. He _wanted_ to fight Genbu…" Hiei glanced at Yusuke nonchalantly. "Not to mention that he probably saved your ugly friend's life by taking the 'wrong' door himself. Be grateful."

"Well, how did he know what door he wanted? Spirit awareness?"

"He probably found it with that nose of his," Hiei mused, "but spirit awareness would have worked just as well."

"_Your_ spirit awareness isn't too bad," Yusuke said accusingly. "You must have sensed Genbu, too. Why didn't we take that door? Two on one would have at least been better odds!"

Hiei stared at Yusuke blankly. "I'm a _fire_ youkai."

"So?"

"Whoa, awesome!" Kuwabara shouted excitedly. Yusuke and Hiei returned their attention to the fight just as Kurama flipped out of Genbu's range. Kurama drew the Rose Whip back and swung it forward, twirling the handle like a gymnast with a ribbon wand. Yusuke might have lost all respect for Kurama for using such a technique, but he quickly forgave the girliness when the spiked weapon tangled together with Genbu's tail. The Beast shrieked deafeningly, injured tail swishing wildly.

"Hahaaa, take that!" Kuwabara cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

Yusuke was impressed despite himself. "Wow. He really got him…!"

Then Genbu's mouth opened wide and a geyser rushed out. It struck Kurama hard, engulfing him, lifting him off his feet and smashing him against the wall. Kuwabara's grin turned into a look of horror and Yusuke's stomach lurched. Hiei remained impassive.

"Kuramaaa!" Yusuke yelled. Genbu's harsh spray kept up for only a couple of seconds before the water pressure dropped. Kurama stayed pinned to the wall for a moment and then slumped down, landing on his backside with a splash. He didn't seem to care that he was sitting on a floor now covered by nearly a foot of water. "Oh man, what do we do? Kurama? Kurama!"

"Will you refrain from yelling?" Hiei scowled. "It's annoying."

"Oh, gee golly frickin' whiz, I'm sorry if I care about whether Kurama lives or dies!" Yusuke snapped.

"He was just stunned. Look."

Yusuke did. Much to his relief, Kurama was slowly wiping his soaked bangs from his eyes. He used the same hand to grab hold of the wall behind him and drag himself to his feet.

"YOU CONTINUE TO SURPRISE!" Genbu's mutilated tail flicked, dislodging the Rose Whip. The weapon reverted back to a simple flower, which landed in the water and sank briefly before floating to the surface. "DO YOU THINK YOU CAN SURVIVE ANOTHER ATTACK?"

Kurama coughed up water, hand scrabbling at the wall. He forced out a weak chuckle.

"We'll just have to find out." Genbu's head reared back, preparing for a second strike, and Kurama lunged—toward nothing.

"What the heck are you doing? Are you blind? The monster's that way!" Kuwabara yelled, pointing with both hands at Genbu as if it were possible to miss the Beast. Kurama ignored him, continuing to run with the water up past his knees.

"This is bad," Hiei noted grimly. "The water is slowing him down…"

Genbu's mouth opened again, emitting another blast of water. Kurama ducked underneath it and emerged on the other side. He staggered the last few steps to a blank, useless wall and slapped his hand against it briefly. Then he turned and started in another direction, forced to wade as the water lapped around his waist. Yusuke clenched his teeth and hands, frustrated by his own uselessness. He watched as Genbu's tail started to swing in circles above the Beast's head.

"Kurama, watch for his tail!" Yusuke shouted, and Kurama didn't hesitate to dive into the water. Genbu's tail slashed through the air where Kurama had just been. Yusuke felt his lungs aching. Air? Who needed air?

Under the surface, Kurama swam gracefully even as the water kept rising. He reached the wall again and touched his hand against it. Finished with his work, Kurama's lips curved in a smile.

"Where is he?" Yusuke panicked. "I can't see him! Is he dead?"

Kurama rose out of the water with a soft splash.

"There he is!" Kuwabara said unnecessarily.

Genbu laughed at the fox youkai, who was dragging himself out of the two-meters-deep pool and onto one of the statues surrounding the arena. Sitting atop the open book of the priestly stone figure, Kurama drew one knee up to his chest and let the other foot dangle down so his toe barely skimmed the water's surface. He was panting for breath and his hair and clothing were weighed down. Head bowed and eyes lost in shadow, he truly looked like he had given in to the mercy of the Beast.

"YOU MUST BE TIRED BY NOW," Genbu guessed. "WHY NOT HOLD STILL AND LET ME END THIS?"

Kurama lifted his head a bit and smirked. "That's very kind, but I'm more than capable of ending this myself."

"HA! IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU HAVE SPENT THIS ENTIRE BATTLE RUNNING AWAY!" Genbu mocked.

"And yet appearances can be so deceiving." Magenta energy abruptly burst into bloom around Kurama. He raised his head, the flowering magenta energy reflecting in the darks of his eyes. Vines suddenly shot out and wrapped themselves tight around Genbu's throat and jaws. Genbu roared with fury, thrashing against the vines—which, if anyone had the presence of mind to look, stemmed from a number of pink lotuses that sprang from the walls wherever Kurama had touched them.

"It's over," Hiei said idly.

"You mean all that time he was running around, he was planting those things?"

"Positioning the plants around the room for more stability," Hiei confirmed. "Restraints from multiple directions are harder to break."

Yusuke blinked. "That's actually pretty clever."

"Of course it is. It's Kurama." Hiei smiled, proud yet somehow bitter at the same time. "His sense of strategy is the only thing about him you can trust."

Kurama watched for a moment as Genbu struggled against the lotus vines.

"You know, you really shouldn't have pulled back on that first attack," Kurama said mildly. His missing rose drifted along on a wave, and Kurama picked it up, twirling it lazily between his fingers before gripping it tight. "It gave away your weak point too easily."

He snapped the rose forward, and the resulting whip joined the lotus vines around Genbu's throat. Blood began to trickle down the Beast's neck where the Rose Whip's thorns dug in. Genbu shrieked more loudly, trying in vain to break the restraints.

"YOU—IMPER'NEN'—WHULP—" the Beast snarled, the vines around its maw making it impossible to form the words properly.

"Your water is clearly your most effective technique," Kurama continued his explanation, "so why change your mind and strike with your tail instead? You no doubt feared that you would expose your throat to attack, and decided instead to use a part of yourself that could stand to take some damage. An understandable, but not excusable, mistake." Kurama pulled the whip like he was playing tug-of-war, tightening its hold around Genbu's neck and making more blood spill out. "You should have had more faith in yourself. Never hesitate—it, above all else, reveals weakness."

Kurama gave the whip one last, vicious tug. Kuwabara and Yusuke both closed their eyes to spare themselves the sight, but Hiei didn't blink.

Navy-blue energy surrounded Genbu, making Yusuke and Kuwabara's eyes scrunch tighter to block out the light. When it dimmed, they cracked their eyes open and snuck a look down. The enormous Beast had disappeared.

"Where—what the—?" Yusuke gaped. Standing where Genbu had been was a woman, beautiful and dark-haired and clothed in ancient Chinese robes. She stumbled toward Kurama, one hand reaching out to him and the other clutching at her torn throat. Her eyes were wide with shock and her mouth moved soundlessly, beginning to drip blood.

Kurama watched, completely pitiless, as the woman finally stopped and fell forward. She floated on the surface, her dark blue robes and long hair fanning out around her. The water around her slowly started to turn red.

"Who is that girl?" Kuwabara wondered.

"Genbu, you fool. Who else would it be?" Hiei replied. Kuwabara's jaw dropped.

"Wait, wait, wait! You're telling me that that ginormous monster was a girl_ the whole time?_"

"Obviously."

The woman's body faded away to nothingness, and Kurama sighed wearily. Releasing his energy from the Rose Whip, he shrank it from whip to flower to a tiny sprig of rosewood. He tucked the dormant rose into the hair at his nape.

"Kurama! Are you okay?" Yusuke called. Kurama blinked sluggishly up at him.

"Fine—" Too quiet, too weak. Kurama tried again. "I'm all right, Yusuke! I'm sorry to have worried you."

Yusuke blushed and scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"I wasn't worried…" Hiei scoffed loudly, and Yusuke sent him a dirty look. "I _wasn't_," he insisted, which only made Hiei smirk. Ugh. And why was Yusuke embarrassed about worrying about Kurama, anyway? Hiei should be embarrassed for _not_ worrying! What a jerk! "Whatever. That was some fight! Good work, Kurama!"

"Thank you." Kurama smiled at the compliment. "I suppose it's time to move forward, then."

"How? You're stuck down there, aren't you?"

"Oh, certainly not."

Yusuke blinked curiously.

Ten minutes later, Yusuke and Hiei were staring down the wall at a long net of climbing plants. Magenta energy glowed at the tips as they crept higher and higher, finally reaching the ninth floor. Kurama climbed the last meter of the makeshift ladder and kneeled on the ninth story balcony. Kuwabara came up the ladder shortly after him, gasping for air, eyes round as saucers and face tinted blue.

"I…am never doing that again," Kuwabara eked out, not quite able to accept that he had just scaled four stories using nothing but energy-enforced vines. "That was way too scary."

"Jeez Kuwabara, it's not like you were the one fighting the monster," Yusuke rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but this was totally different! I could have fallen off these things and died!"

Hiei frowned at Kurama while Yusuke and Kuwabara continued to bicker about the relative safety of climbing plants ("Stop being such a baby, Kuwabara! If Kurama can use these things without pissing himself, you can!" "Have you seen that guy? He's like half my weight!" "So what? He beat a monster ten times his size all by himself!" "Yeah, well, you just watch! I'll take the next one!"). Kurama was still crouched on the floor, panting for breath. Usually he recovered much faster than this. It could only mean one thing…

"You used up the last of your energy, didn't you," Hiei muttered.

Kurama blew a strand of hair out of his face and looked up at Hiei with a wan smile. "I'm afraid so."

"Great… Let's just hope that we don't need any of your plants for the rest of the mission, then," Hiei said, not sounding at all optimistic.

"Oh? If it comes to that, you could always lend me some of _your_ energy," Kurama suggested sweetly. Hiei growled, crossed his arms tightly and quickly turned away to hide his blush.

"_Not_ going to happen," Hiei asserted. "Not in a million years."


	5. Gag Manga: TsunTsun

Colorblind

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Here is the next chapter! It's a very short, HieixKurama, _gag manga_-style chapter. I wrote this because I had to change some dialogue at the beginning of "Byakko, The White Tiger" which concerned the stomach wound Kurama got from his fight with Genbu. Kurama wasn't wounded in this story, obviously, so I couldn't just leave it. Also, since energy-sharing is going to be important later, I wanted to have a scene devoted to its reintroduction. (It was actually used before when Keiko revived Yusuke…yep, same method. :P)

-I'm probably going to draw this at some point. I'll let you know if and when it's done. :D

* * *

><p>Gag Manga: Tsun-Tsun ("Turn Away In Disgust")<p>

In a long hallway on the tenth floor of Maze Castle, the Urameshi Team had come to a halt. Kurama was sitting down against the wall underneath the window, trying to catch his breath. He had stumbled and nearly fallen partway through the hall, and Yusuke had quickly caught him and half-carried him to the window for some air. Needless to say, it was a little unsettling to see their most graceful fighter trip over his own feet.

"Are you okay, Kurama?" Yusuke asked worriedly. Kurama wiped his hair from his too-pale face.

"I'll be fine. It's just…hard to walk, with so little of my energy…"

"Darn it! If only there was a way to give you some of ours!" Kuwabara frowned, clenching his fist with frustration.

"Your energy won't work for me. Demon energy and human energy are incompatible," Kurama explained. Hiei's expression was mostly blank, but telltale beads of nervous sweat had started to drip down his face. At this point, an imaginary arrow could be seen cheerfully squiggling its way toward Hiei. (You could tell it was cheerful because it had a smiley face at the end.) It read: _**He** has demon energy…_

"Well, can't Shrimpy here give you some?" Kuwabara asked, his awareness making it possible for him to see the aforementioned imaginary arrow. He turned to Hiei and glared at him, which made Hiei cross his arms. The previous arrow was now joined by a teasing, kissy-faced one that read: _Defensive much?_ "Hey, what's your problem? Didn't your mom ever teach you about sharing?"

Kurama smiled, waving his hands dismissively as he started to sweat, too. "Erm… Kuwabara, it's really okay. If Hiei doesn't want to, you can just leave me here. I'll be fine…"

"Are you crazy?" Yusuke yelped. "What if you get attacked while you're all alone and powerless?"

"That's unlikely to—"

"Fine!" Hiei burst out angrily, making the rest of the Urameshi Team stare at him. Hiei stalked toward Kurama, eyes shining with fury as he grabbed the youko by the front of his shirt and tugged him to nearly eye level. "You! You had better appreciate this, because I am not doing it again." He turned his head to Yusuke and Kuwabara. "And you two! What are you gawking at?"

Yusuke and Kuwabara squeaked, spinning around and standing like soldiers at attention. They sensed the shift of energy behind them, visualizing it as green firelight pouring out of its humanoid-shaped container. The energy turned crystal-clear for a moment as it was caught between forms, and then it changed to Kurama's signature, a mass of shining magenta petals. Yusuke was tempted to look to see how this energy transfer was being done, but by the time he got up the nerve to defy Hiei, it was over.

"There." Hiei let go of Kurama's shirt and let him fall unceremoniously back on the floor. "Now you had best conserve your energy, because I won't give you any more," Hiei snapped. He did seem a little calmer than before, though, even as he started to storm down the hallway. Kurama, now rosy-cheeked and smiling prettily, climbed to his feet.

"Thank—"

"Shut up."

Another arrow followed Hiei down the hall, happily declaring: _Not as mad as he pretends to be._


	6. Reasons To Fight

Colorblind

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! :D Here is the next chapter, which is the prelude to the Kuwabara vs. Byakko fight. This is where things start getting more serious and the plot starts to thicken.

* * *

><p>Reasons To Fight<p>

Kuwabara dropped like a stone and crashed to the floor, making Kurama wince delicately and Hiei snort with amusement.

"Don't worry, guys. It's just that sometimes the sword makes me a little dizzy." Kuwabara smiled widely, his head spinning and his vision blocked by a field of shiny stars.

"You're not making us look good," Yusuke hissed. He was starting to regret allowing Kuwabara to tag along on this mission. Now the coolest demons Yusuke knew had to bear witness to this dope's antics, which made _him_ look stupid by association. _How much more embarrassing can it get? Wait, no, don't answer—_but it was too late. A ringing sound chose that moment to fill the hallway, as if it sensed that the time to spite Yusuke had come.

"Uhhh… Is that someone's phone?" Kuwabara shoved a hand in his trouser pocket and pulled out a plain, black, functional flip phone. "It's not mine."

"Nor mine," Kurama said, checking his own high-tech smartphone just to be sure. "But our phones won't work across dimensions, anyway."

"Hahaaa, imagine that…" Yusuke abruptly blurred away, leaving the rest of the group surprised and impressed by his speed. The detective hunched over in a corner of the room and whispered angrily. "What do you want?"

"_Yusuke… It's Botan here in the living world,"_ Botan's voice buzzed.

"Yeah, sure, now can you talk fast?"

"Is that Botan? I thought phones didn't work across dimensions," Kuwabara commented, sneaking up behind Yusuke. "Hey, what are you hiding over here for, anyway?" Then Kuwabara craned his neck over Yusuke's head and saw the purple powder compact in his hand. He dissolved into hysterical laughter, much to Yusuke's annoyance. "OH MY GOD, URAMESHI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, CHECKING YOUR LIPSTICK? BWAHAHAHA!"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Yusuke grumbled. "Frigging Spirit World can't get its frigging camouflage right…"

"_Yusuke, this is no time to complain! I—" _Botan's eyes darted to her left at the sound of wheels rolling along a hard floor. Yusuke suddenly noticed that she was pale and rattled-looking, with loose strands of hair poking out from her ponytail and a Band-Aid stuck to her cheek below her eye. Botan waited for a moment as the sound passed, then spoke in a low voice. _"I'm at the hospital right now."_

* * *

><p>"<em>Did she say hospital?" <em>Kuwabara asked from off-screen._ "What is she doing there? Is she all right?"_

"_Back off! Get your own mirror!" _ Yusuke turned away from Kuwabara, took a deep breath, and looked at Botan with cool composure. _"Did you say hospital? What are you doing there? Are you all right?"_

Botan smiled thinly. "I'm fine, more or less. I'm just here because…um…" She glanced behind her. She was leaning back against a large window, behind which was a hospital room. "Violence has been breaking out between normal humans and those controlled by the Makai insects. I happened across a fight a little while ago, and I recognized one of the people. I think he's Kuwabara's friend… Sawamura?"

"_Ow! Idiot, what do you think you're—"_

Kuwabara's face was suddenly pressed up close to the screen.

"_Is he hurt?"_ he asked urgently, all traces of humor gone from his expression.

"It's nothing life-threatening, but yes," Botan said uneasily. She helpfully moved the mirror so the room behind her was in view. Sawamura was sitting up in his hospital bed, talking with Kuwabara's other two friends. He motioned to the bandage wrapped around his shaved head and mimed being stricken. "It sounds like he stumbled across an attack and rushed in to help. He's all right, but I thought, since it's someone you know…"

* * *

><p>"Yeah, no, I got it," Yusuke nodded, reclaiming the communicator. Kuwabara didn't even try to fight over it; he had gone rigid and his face was unreadable. It was almost creepy. "Thanks for telling us."<p>

Botan nodded. _"I have to get back out there now and try to keep up the damage control. I'll check in if there are any developments, okay?"_

"All right. Watch your back."

"_Will do. Over and out."_

Yusuke snapped the compact shut and shoved it back in his pocket.

"Sounds like things are getting pretty bad back home. We better grab that Whistle thing, fast," Yusuke said gravely. Kurama and Hiei nodded their agreement, but Kuwabara didn't respond. It didn't sit well with Yusuke.

* * *

><p>Botan walked through the hospital's sliding doors and glanced around to check if the coast was clear. Seeing no one, she held out her hand. An aluminum baseball bat materialized in the air and she caught it neatly. Slinging the bat over her shoulder, Botan hurried down the street toward downtown. There was no time to lose.<p>

* * *

><p>Somewhat later, Yusuke noticed a change in the castle's décor. Before, the light sources had been hung from the ceilings and the walls decorated only with immovable stone sculptures—basically, things that wouldn't float away should the halls flood. Now that they were away from Genbu's lair, the walls were lined with caged electric light fixtures, mounted armor and weaponry. The weapons were old and Chinese-styled and, Yusuke had to admit, it all looked pretty cool. He even saw Hiei glancing sideways at some of the nicer swords. (Why was Yusuke watching Hiei? It wasn't like he was considering pulling some sort of prank on the guy and framing Kuwabara, just so the fight would get Kuwabara's mind off the situation back home… Yusuke wasn't <em>that<em> nice. He might do it just for the laughs, though…)

Yusuke was trying to figure out how he could get behind Hiei without being noticed when a jolt of awareness stopped the team in their tracks.

"Whoa… That's a weird vibe," Yusuke said slowly. "Anyone else feel that?"

Kuwabara pointed up ahead. "It came from that way!"

They ran down the hall, climbing a set of circular steps and exiting through a single archway. It led into a large, rectangular chamber that should have reminded Yusuke of a museum exhibit…but of course, Yusuke hadn't been to a museum since he was forced to go in elementary school, so he didn't notice the resemblance. Eight suits of ancient Chinese armor were on display, each set embellished in some way with a mould of a tiger's head. Eerily enough, it looked like the owners' bones were still strapped inside. Yusuke stared around at the skeletons, fists clenched and body tense.

"Are you sure it came from in here?" he asked, turning to frown at Kuwabara. "These guys look pretty dead to me…" A screech of twisting metal filled the room. Yusuke turned around, eyes going wide and sweat dripping down his face. "But I've been wrong before," he finished, watching as the warriors began to move. Arms and necks rotated like sleepers stretching after a long period of rest, and gauntlet-covered hands reached for swords and polearms.

"One, two, three, four… Okay, I count eight undead warriors," Yusuke said nonchalantly. "Wanna split them evenly?"

Hiei unsheathed his katana and held it in front of him. "Why don't we just see who takes out the most."

"You're on, Three-Eyes!"

And with that they both sprinted in different directions, eager to test their skills in a fight.

Kuwabara glowered at the pair of them ("Hey, this isn't a competition! We're trying to save the world here!"), but he didn't have time to be cross. Two of the warriors had ignored Yusuke and Hiei's charge and were shrieking their way toward the so-called easier targets. Kuwabara raised his fists and Kurama slid fluidly back into a martial arts stance.

Whether they knew it or not, something of their true natures shone through when they fought. Yusuke, sarcastic and ill-tempered as he normally was, wore half a smile as he dodged left and right of his opponent's spear. Hiei darted around, clashing swords with three warriors at once, his face blank and his eyes gleaming. They both enjoyed fighting simply for the challenge, and that's what made them so good at it. Kurama, meanwhile, was a picture of serenity as he weaved around his enemy—perhaps he didn't enjoy fighting the way Yusuke and Hiei did, but that didn't mean he lacked the skills or the heart to do it when needed. And Kuwabara just ground his teeth, concentrating on the idealism behind it all. The concept of a warrior's honor motivated him, so he always fought with his code and a just cause in mind.

Of course, having your attention so divided had certain disadvantages, too. Case in point: Kuwabara didn't even think before punching his opponent hard in the stomach.

"YOW!" Kuwabara wailed, his fist throbbing painfully. "Gah—jeez—that hurt!"

"It _is_ armor, Kuwabara," Kurama said mildly, seemingly ducking _before_ his opponent swung his sword. "It's designed to stand up to—" He paused when he saw the way the skeleton's head rattled around from the force of the swing. The skull rolled until it lay sideways in the helmet. Kurama hopped backward a few steps, eyes darting from one warrior to the next and observing the way they moved. _Something is wrong… Their movements…_

Yusuke used his forearm to deflect another spear-thrust and took advantage of the opening. He blurred and reappeared in front of his opponent, punching it in the face. The force of his fist shattered the skull to dust and blew the warrior backward. "Heh, I've watched enough zombie flicks to know a good old-fashioned headshot kills you!" Yusuke smirked. His smile slid away when the warrior floated up and back onto its feet. The dark, empty interior of its helmet creeped Yusuke out way more than the skull had. "Well, damn. So much for headshots…"

Hiei slashed through the shoulder of one warrior, having at least enough sense to strike at the weak point in the armor. The thin leather straps that held the shoulderplate in place snapped, and the arm fell to the ground.

"Quick lesson for you, Detective," Hiei said, watching as the arm floated back up and reattached itself to the breastplate. "If it doesn't have a brain, it isn't a zombie."

"Thanks for the tip, Shorty, now what the heck are they?" Kuwabara said impatiently.

"Armor!" Kurama called. "Look closely! The bones aren't moving—it's only the armor!"

Kuwabara frowned and squinted at the warrior he was fighting, and blue light shone behind Hiei's bandana as he opened the Jagan. Kuwabara and Hiei's eyes widened at the same moment. With their spirit awareness focused, they could perceive white energy bubbling around the armor like plasma.

"There's some kind of weird aura around them!" Kuwabara observed. "I think someone is controlling them!"

"Zombies, cursed armor… Who cares?" Yusuke crouched low and drew his fist back, gathering energy. "I'm blasting them all with my Shotgun!"

"Yusuke, no!" Kurama warned, but it was too late; blue-white energy had already lit the room. There was nothing else to do but dive for the floor, which Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei all did without a second thought. Then the chamber was filled with a roar like a tornado and the suits of armor crackled with pale spirit power. By the time the light and noise died down, the warriors had all stopped moving.

"That was easy," Yusuke commented. "Why didn't I do that sooner?"

Hiei propped himself up on one elbow just so he could cover his eyes with his hand. "Idiot…"

"What? It worked, didn't it?"

The suits of armor began to shake ominously, and Yusuke sent them a wary look.

"Next time, try to use your head. Their energy wavelength is almost the same as yours," Hiei said dully. Yusuke replayed the scene in his mind, when his energy had zapped the armor like an electric current. Now that he thought about it, most targets would have been blasted away by that kind of attack… "It's like fighting fire with fire. All your energy can do is make them stronger."

"Well how was I supposed to know that!" Yusuke yelled at him.

"This whole thing is rigged, anyway!" Kuwabara complained, just for the sake of it. "I mean, what kind of coward uses puppets to fight his battles for him? Whoever's controlling these guys, he should fight up front, one on one!"

The suits of armor suddenly stopped shaking and stood upright, as if they had all received a silent order. Then, in unison, they turned around and quick-marched out the door on the other end of the chamber. The Urameshi Team got up from their places on the floor and stared in confusion.

"Now where do they think they're going?" Yusuke wondered.

The armor at the end of the line, the one that Yusuke had punched earlier, stopped and turned. Even without eyes it seemed to be staring straight at Kuwabara. Yusuke, Hiei and Kurama looked between them with evident surprise, and Kuwabara's face went slightly blue. Then a strange voice echoed from inside the armor's empty headgear.

"YOU WANTED TO FIGHT ME, DIDN'T YOU? THEN FOLLOW…UNLESS _YOU'RE_ THE COWARD."

The voice inside the armor laughed tauntingly, and Kuwabara swallowed his fear enough to glare.

"I ain't scared! Bring it on, whoever you are!"

* * *

><p><em>AN: Byakko is a metal/wind/electricity elemental depending on which source you look at (what a pain in the butt!), and when Yusuke's energy isn't in plain old blast mode it has properties of light, wind, and electricity. Since I didn't want Byakko's main power to be energy absorption but still wanted a resemblance to the original Byakko fight, I thought the similarities between Byakko and Yusuke's energy would be a good explanation… Yeah. I don't know, I was going with gut instinct when I wrote this. -_-_


	7. Man and Beast: Kuwabara vs Byakko, Pt 1

Colorblind

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: A new chapter, finally. Work has been exhausting lately (as in 12 hour shifts), so I haven't had the time or energy to work on this. Thankfully I had this week off, so I managed to pump out this chapter. I wish I had the patience to pretty it up more, but I just want this thing over and done with. Hopefully it's not too bad.

* * *

><p>Man and Beast<p>

They followed the suits of armor out of the chamber and through several corridors. Finally, they came to a huge, metal door, which swung open of its own accord. The suits of armor marched into the large, rectangular room beyond and went to stand against the walls. The Urameshi Team looked around, but they didn't see the next Beast anywhere.

"Where are you? I thought we were gonna fight! Didja get scared?" Kuwabara called, hiding his own nervousness with loud talk.

There was a low squeal behind them, and the detective team whipped around to see the door closing behind them.

"Well that was a little spooky—whoa." Yusuke shut his mouth and ogled the engraving on the doors, which showed two great armies charging toward each other on a tree-dotted battlefield. In the clouds above one of the armies was an enormous tiger, snarling down at the enemy forces while lightning bolts snapped at the ground around them. "Don't tell me, let me guess. That's one of the Saint Beasts?"

"The White Tiger, Byakko," Kurama confirmed. No one noticed when a large form leapt from the highest rafter and landed, catlike, on the floor behind them. "We must be in his lair."

"Byakko?" Kuwabara repeated.

"VERY GOOD…"

The team turned sharply in the direction of the voice, half-expecting to see an enormous tiger in the room with them. And for a split second, out of the blurry corners of their eyes, they _did_ see a huge feline body and glowing white fur. But it must have been a trick of the light, because when they focused all that stood before them was a man.

"That's Byakko?" Yusuke said dubiously. "Wow. That picture just does _not_ do you justice." Despite Yusuke's dripping sarcasm, the man was still impressive by human standards. He wasn't a massive Beast sending lightning down from the heavens, but Byakko was almost seven feet tall and looked strong enough to break a bodybuilder in two. He wore nothing but a set of plain black trousers and some spiked metal knuckle-guards on his hands. Black tattoos like a tiger's stripes were inked across his face, and a mane of shaggy, silver-white hair hung down to the middle of his back.

"Ha! I take this form for your sake," Byakko told Yusuke, closing his gold-tinted eyes and shrugging unconcernedly. "My true form would surely frighten you to death. Still, I can't believe a mere mortal challenges me." He opened his eyes to size Kuwabara up. "You would have had a better chance against a hundred of my warriors, Boy. But if you insist on a duel with me, I will oblige."

"Don't call me 'Boy'!" Kuwabara ran to stand in front of Byakko and held his hand out to his side, pushing golden energy out through his palm. "Do you know who I am? I'm Kazuma Kuwabara!"

Byakko raised an eyebrow, looking intrigued. "You say your name as if you are a hero. Tell me, what great feats have you to that name?"

The cocky look on Kuwabara's face fell. "Feats? Uh…well, I dunno…"

"Saved a country? Slain an army?" Byakko pressed, folding his arms over his chest.

Kuwabara's shoulders hunched uncomfortably and even his rei sword seemed to dim. "No…"

Byakko scoffed. "How disappointing. Yet another self-righteous samurai, puffed up on the notion that a sword and an honor code make him better than everyone else. And all without a single great deed to prove it…"

Kuwabara growled, his pride smarting at the abuse. It didn't hurt nearly as much as it could have, though. Even if he had never done anything great, he still did plenty of good. Who was it that kept fighting Kasane and Rukafuchi punks after Yusuke died, keeping the more dangerous gangs from expanding into Sarayashiki? Who secretly spent an hour every week volunteering at the animal shelter where he got Eikichi? And who had come to Maze Castle to stop these Saint Beasts while his friends were left in the thick of an insect invasion back on Earth?

"What do you know about greatness!" he yelled, charging forward. "You're nothin' but a soulless monster!"

Byakko closed his eyes, unworried about the oncoming attack. Kuwabara brought his sword slashing down with a hoarse yell—and Hiei cringed with embarrassment. The source of his chagrin became obvious as Byakko, eyes still closed, sidestepped Kuwabara's strike. Not even bothering to unfold his arms, the Beast spun around and sent the heel of his foot crashing into Kuwabara's exposed side. The human tumbled sideways, knocked out from the pain of that one hit.

"What the hell was that!" Yusuke yelled furiously at his unresponsive friend. "You let a few weak-ass insults get to you and just run in without thinking? You're lucky the guy didn't kill you!"

"Byakko wouldn't," Kurama murmured. Yusuke turned to look at him, hoping Kurama had something to say that would ease his frustration. "Byakko is…righteous. He favors heroes and just causes and aids them in battle." Yusuke thought of the engraving on the door, where Byakko's image could be seen lending strength to one of the armies. "By the same token, it would be dishonorable to kill an unworthy opponent." And true to Kurama's word, Byakko was not taking the opportunity to finish off his unconscious foe. He was just standing there, looking down on Kuwabara with arms crossed and expression neutral.

"I agree Kuwabara's not a worthy opponent," Yusuke said offhandedly, "but this doesn't make any sense. Why would an evil demon care about what's honorable?" Kurama blinked and turned to Yusuke, wide-eyed. His mouth moved wordlessly, like he knew he should be speaking but didn't know what to say. Yusuke's forehead wrinkled with confusion as he looked from Kurama to Hiei, whose face had darkened. "I… Listen, that came out wrong. You guys know I don't think _all_ demons are evil, but these Beasts—"

"Oh, no. Don't feel the need to explain," Hiei said flatly, watching Kuwabara regain consciousness with a cough and a twitch. "Let me guess. Your friends in Spirit World sent you to combat some evil, _demon_ criminals who are attacking the human world out of pure spite?"

"Hiei, quiet," Kurama said softly. He sounded placating instead of reproachful. Yusuke took that to mean that whatever point Hiei was trying to make, he was right. But Hiei had summarized exactly what Botan had told Yusuke, so why did he make it sound like a load of crap? "I'm sure it isn't like that. It's a misunderstanding."

"Yes, because _misunderstandings_ are what the Spirit World is known for."

"What are you guys talking about?" Yusuke asked. "Botan said the Beasts wanted to go to the human world. Is there any way this isn't a bad thing?" Neither of the demons saw fit to answer. Hiei just observed with a hard glint in his eyes as Kuwabara finally staggered to his feet. Kurama peered at Hiei for another moment, brows knit with worry, until Byakko chuckled and drew his attention back to the fight.

"I didn't give you enough credit, Boy," Byakko said, sounding pleased even as Kuwabara clutched at his bruised side and dissolved into a coughing fit. "Most of your kind would have turned tail after that first blow."

Kuwabara forced himself to stop coughing and glared the best he could.

"First off, I told you not to call me 'Boy,'" he retorted. "And second, what kind of fighter gives up after one hit?"

"One who recognizes that he has no chance of victory," Byakko shrugged. "Smart, but hardly dedicated to his cause." He looked at Kuwabara as if to reassess him. "But that's not you, is it? What moves you? Is it courage? Or just stupidity?"

Kuwabara let out a guttural battle cry, running at Byakko with a fresh sword in hand. The Beast flitted aside. Kuwabara spun around to try again. This time Byakko dodged and used his foot to give Kuwabara a light tap on the butt. "Hey!" Kuwabara squeaked, angrily whirling around. Byakko ran a blurry circle around the human to avoid the hit, and Kuwabara kept spinning, trying to follow—until he had turned several full circles and made himself dizzy. Byakko smiled faintly at the swaying human and used his toe to nudge him in the belly, sending Kuwabara pitching backward in a second fall.

"What did you learn?" Byakko asked, his neutral tone sounding like an unbearable taunt to Kuwabara's ears.

Kuwabara shook his head to dispel his dizziness. "Stand still and fight like a man!"

"Like a human?" Byakko smirked. "You seem to be slow on the uptake. Humans make for poor fighters. They're slow, they're weak, they're _clumsy_—and worst of all, their pride blinds them to their flaws. You will find none of these shortcomings in a tiger. If you want to fight well, you should learn to fight like a beast." As Kuwabara leapt to his feet suddenly and yelled something about spouting crap, Byakko smiled thinly. "Observe…"

Kuwabara attempted a single sword-thrust, but the sword pierced nothing but air. Almost as if in slow motion, Byakko appeared behind and slightly to Kuwabara's side. The human jerked with surprise as one of the Beast's hands closed around his wrist.

"Hey, what are you—?"

"This is why you're so clumsy. Putting all your weight forward like this, you're setting yourself up to overbalance," Byakko said, pulling Kuwabara's sword hand back toward himself. "Here, your feet are too close together. Not a good base." He used his own foot to nudge between Kuwabara's ankles and separate them. Then he tapped Kuwabara on the lower back with one hand. "And this was where you got all of your strength for that thrust, this one area here. You'll wear it out too quickly if you keep doing that. Distribute evenly."

"I didn't ask for your advice!" Kuwabara shouted, flailing about in an attempt to swing his sword at Byakko. The Beast practically skipped backward, returning his arms to their folded position across his chest.

"Well, you should have," Byakko said lightly. "You certainly could use it. But I see you need to embarrass yourself a bit more before you get the idea…"

Kuwabara charged forward again, waving his sword wildly back and forth. Byakko darted from side to side, easily avoiding the attacks. Snarling with frustration, Kuwabara switched to downward, diagonal strikes like he was chopping wood. It was no more effective than the first technique—Byakko simply leapt a step back each time, forcing Kuwabara to follow to stay in range. The fight carried on like this for a few minutes. Finally, Byakko got bored, ducked underneath a sideways slash, and sank another spinning kick into Kuwabara's side. It sent Kuwabara crashing to the floor for a third time.

"Is that it?" Byakko asked. "You're just going to keep doing the same thing, hoping for a different result? You bore me."

The growl that had been rumbling in Kuwabara's throat turned to a scream of fury as he barreled into yet another attack. Kurama sighed with mild exasperation and Hiei closed his eyes boredly. Yusuke was the only one who watched the fight with any hope that the tide would change. It was a hope that died quickly with Kuwabara's yelp and the fourth loud _smack_ of the day. _This could take a while._

* * *

><p>Later, after what could have been minutes or hours, Kuwabara dropped to the floor for what he dearly hoped was the last time.<p>

"Man, I can't watch any more of this," Yusuke groaned. "Kuwabara, will you switch with me already?"

"No…way…" Kuwabara wheezed from his position flat on his back. "I'm…_never_…gonna give up on this fight."

"What fight? You haven't even hit him yet!"

"That's not the point!" Kuwabara propped himself up in a sitting position with one hand and attempted to push his energy out through his other. The fight had dragged on for so long that he could form only a short dagger. "I'm not asking you for help…so just stay out of this, Urameshi!" He lurched forward and rolled his weight so he could get back on his feet. "I'm gonna kill this monster all by myself."

"There is no need for this," Hiei said, seemingly moved to pity as Kuwabara swayed toward Byakko and exhaustedly swung his rei dagger. It was a too-broad, sloppy swing that Byakko barely had to step back to avoid. "Your energy is depleted. You have nothing left to fight with. Let one of us take over and stop embarrassing yourself."

"You too, Shrimpy! Back off!" Kuwabara gasped out.

Yusuke sweatdropped as Kuwabara kept swinging his dagger back and forth. Apparently, he was so tired that he didn't have the strength to change pattern—he was just using the repetitive movement to keep from stopping.

"I don't understand this guy. Does he not realize how bad he's losing?" Yusuke wondered.

"Perhaps that is why he wants to keep fighting," Kurama suggested. "It may well be a matter of pride."

"Of course it is," Byakko snorted derisively. "It's always a matter of pride with these silly samurai…"

Kuwabara's eyes burned.

"SHUT _UP!_" he screamed raggedly, mustering all the strength and speed he had left. With one last burst of will, he changed his dagger to a shining rei sword and swung it diagonally upward. Byakko, lulled by the smaller weapon and slower, repetitive swings, didn't react in time to dodge. Kuwabara gritted his teeth and brought the raised sword down for a second strike, slicing deep into the junction between Byakko's shoulder and neck. The Beast staggered backward, clutching at his bloodied chest and shoulder with both hands.

But Kuwabara didn't take that moment to kill Byakko. Instead he huffed and puffed for air, turned around, and glared ferociously at his own teammates.

"What is _wrong_ with you people?" Kuwabara demanded. The question was met with stunned silence. "Just because _you_ fight to show off, doesn't mean everyone else does! Some people have more important things to worry about! Or do you even remember why we came here?" In his mind's eye, all Kuwabara could see were his friends in that hospital room. Kuwabara knew that as soon as Sawamura was released, he and the others would be back out on the streets fighting the Makai insects. But next time, they might not get off so lightly… "In case you all forgot, we came here to save the world! We have to get that Whistle and stop those bug-things before anyone else gets hurt! Do you understand? This isn't supposed to be about looking cool and proving how tough we are! It's not about us! It's about _saving_ people!"

There was a long, ringing silence in the room. The rest of the Urameshi Team was staring at Kuwabara with wide eyes. The emotions on their faces ran the gamut from embarrassment and self-shame to awe and respect.

"Kuwabara…" Yusuke murmured, put in his place.

"Shut up," Kuwabara snapped. "Don't even talk to me. You're not worth my time." Kuwabara turned back around to face Byakko. His righteous anger switched to surprise. Where Byakko had stood clutching his wounds was a mass of white energy, spiky and blobby at once. "Wha…? Hey, what are you doing?"

The energy expanded, crackling, sending jagged jolts of electricity arching to the floor and ceiling. Kuwabara raised his arm to shield his face from the light, but it didn't protect him from the sense of pressure Byakko's energy gave off.

"What's going on with his power?" Yusuke asked, watching from behind one of his arms.

"He's changing!" Kurama gasped. "I don't believe it! Byakko is going to fight Kuwabara in his full Beast form!"

"You mean…?" Yusuke had a mental image of the engraving on the door behind them—of a Tiger that took up half the sky and called the lightning down with his roar. Yusuke jolted with horror. "Are you _crazy?_ Kuwabara can't handle that! He doesn't stand a chance in hell!"

"It's a little late for him to back out, Detective," Hiei said coolly. The energy was still spiked, but it was starting to shift into the almost-shape of a tiger… "Regardless of how physically strong you are, once the White Tiger has deemed you worthy in spirit, He will fight with all His being."

The energy-beast lowered its shining head, letting out a low roar to beckon Kuwabara. Then there was a loud crack, and the beast was gone. In the air was a trail of heat and scent, the water molecules in the air instantly boiled by a bolt of lightning. To Kuwabara's spirit awareness it was as clear as if Byakko had left tracks of shining white energy. Where the trail led, Kuwabara had no idea. But he would see this through to the end.

* * *

><p><em>AN: End chapter. I know, I know… Not much of a fight scene, but I feel Kuwabara got his Moment of Awesome anyway. The cooler, more action-y part of the fight is next chapter, with a stunning conclusion! Next time: Kuwabara vs. Byakko, A Clash of Will and Lightning! The other world's not watching for nothing! …I'm going to go take a nap now. Please feel free to leave a review._


	8. Clash of Will and Lightning: Kuwabara v…

Colorblind

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Thank you all for waiting for this chapter. I now have a nice, shiny, fully functional computer. I've not much else to say in regards to life that anyone would like hearing, so I'll skip the usual RL updates. Please enjoy… As much as you can enjoy this stuff, anyway.

-A note unrelated to this story. If you're looking for a novel-length, supernatural/fantasy story and have no problem with male-male romance, I highly recommend _**Supernatural: Redemption Road**_. It is a fanmade virtual Season 7 for Supernatural, and it is the best thing I have ever read. Ever. Just Google 'Supernatural Redemption Road' and it should be the first result. But be warned, reading RR will automatically raise your standards for reading material, so you'll probably come back from it wondering why you ever wasted your time on my fanfics. :/

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><p>Clash of Will and Lightning<p>

The scent of electricity led them out of the hall, along a corridor, and up a set of spiraling steps. Soon they emerged from the top of a turret. Open, murky brown sky surrounded them, broken only by the castle looming ahead. Connecting the turret and the castle was a bridge made of black and white tiles. The bridge was two tiles wide, bisected by a narrow strip of black down the middle, and in the bridge's center was a platform nearly six meters in diameter. Hiei narrowed his eyes.

"Perfect," he said darkly. "As if we aren't at enough of a disadvantage."

"What's wrong? Scared of heights?" Kuwabara asked. His voice came out so flat that it was impossible to tell whether he meant it as a taunt or a genuine question. Either way, Hiei bristled indignantly. Luckily, Kurama spoke up before Hiei could open his mouth.

"You don't understand," Kurama said. "This is the Path of Lightning…"

The sky around them flashed white, and a thunderbolt zigzagged down from one of the clouds. It hit the center platform, sending crackles of electricity down the strip of metal to electrify the black tiles. The base of the bolt expanded and shifted into the shape of the Beast.

"To cross it is to face death itself," Kurama finished grimly.

Byakko let out a laugh that made the sky around them rumble.

"HE SPEAKS THE TRUTH. VERY FEW HAVE WILLINGLY TAKEN THIS PATH… ONLY THE BRAVEST AND MOST RIGHTEOUS OF HEROES HAVE DARED." Byakko's tail lashed out, hitting the platform beneath him and sending another jolt through the bridge. "YOU HAVE SHOWN ME THE CAUSE OF A HERO, KAZUMA KUWABARA. NOW SHOW ME THE COURAGE."

Kuwabara didn't even stop to think; he simply walked toward the bridge with his shoulders stiffened and his jaw set.

"Kuwabara, wait!" Kuwabara paused just short of the bridge, and Kurama attempted to reason with him. "Consider your actions. You're going to walk across a metal bridge, across the sky, to fight a giant tiger that controls lightning. It's—" The youko scoffed incredulously, as if he couldn't believe this even needed to be said. "It's _suicide._"

Kuwabara waited to see if Kurama had any more to tell him. Then he looked down at the bridge before him and placed his foot onto the first white tile. Raising his head once more, he narrowed his eyes at Byakko. He proceeded forward, careful not to step on the black tiles. Kurama stared after him, bewildered.

"This is pointless, Kuwabara! You're throwing your life away! What good will that do?" Kurama demanded roughly. When his words failed to sway Kuwabara, Kurama turned to their team leader for assistance. "Yusuke, say something to him!"

Yusuke spared Kurama an uneasy glance, but his eyes were drawn back to Kuwabara. It was hard _not_ to look at him. All the things Yusuke usually noticed about Kuwabara—his goofy orange hair, his baggy clothes and his exaggerated expressions—seemed less prominent now. They were overshadowed by his intimidating height, his stonelike face, his squared shoulders. It was like looking at a stranger. And that scared Yusuke more than any ghost or demon ever had.

"I… I dunno…" Yusuke faltered.

"Leave him be." Hiei's words earned him a glare from Kurama, but the little demon was watching Kuwabara, hands folded behind his back and a sort of grudging respect in his eyes. "It's not like Byakko will let Kuwabara run away now. He _has_ to fight. He may as well do it with his head held high."

"He is going to _die_," Kurama stressed.

"I don't doubt that, but—"

"Hey!" Kuwabara whipped around to glower at the two demons, and Yusuke sweatdropped at his balled-up fists and cartoonish expression. It was stupid as hell, but Yusuke felt better now. The tension had deflated like air from a balloon. "Would you two please shut up? I can handle this! You said it yourself, Byakko deemed me worthy! That means we're equals!"

"Stupid! He said you were worthy in spirit! That doesn't mean jack squat!" Yusuke yelled, back to his usual self.

"Hmph!" Kuwabara turned away in a huff and started stamping his way forward, the danger completely slipping his mind. Byakko's eyes gleamed in a sinister way. "Maybe honor doesn't mean anything to you, Urameshi, but it does to me!"

One more stomp and Kuwabara had put himself directly on top of a black square. Yusuke gasped sharply; Hiei's eyes widened.

"Kuwabara—_move!_" Kurama shouted, raising his hand as if to physically grab Kuwabara and pull him to safety.

Kuwabara blinked, glanced over his shoulder confusedly, and then looked down at his feet.

"Uh-oh…"

But by the time Kuwabara realized his mistake, Byakko had already swung his tail down. A current shot from Byakko's body and down through the centerline, electrifying the black tiles once more—except this time the power had a new path to follow.

"_EYAGHHHHHAAAHHH!_" Kuwabara convulsed violently, vibrating as the electric current lashed up his back and through his body with the force of spikes driving through his spine. His bones rattled from the force, sending his arms and legs flopping around him grotesquely. Yusuke and Kurama both let out cries of horror as they watched Kuwabara's out-of-control body jitter sideways…

"Kuwabara, get a hold of yourself!" Yusuke yelled, gaping helplessly as his friend neared the side of the bridge. His voice hit a new octave as Kuwabara wavered on the edge. "_You're gonna fall!_"

Kurama closed his eyes and turned his head away, not wanting to see; Hiei clenched his hands into fists.

Then Kuwabara stopped shaking. He stood stock still for a moment, and Yusuke held his breath. It was released in a faint groan as Kuwabara pitched forward, dropping flat on his chest with his head turned to the side.

"At least he didn't fall," Kurama said weakly. Hiei gave an anxious _hn_. Yusuke wasn't about to count his blessings, though. He ran forward as far as he could, stopping just short of the bridge.

"Heyyyy!" Yusuke called.

But Kuwabara couldn't hear him. He couldn't hear anything except a slow, throbbing thud that didn't seem to have a source. His eyes were wide open, but the world around him kept jerking and twitching around. His mouth was agape, dry as a bone, and when he swallowed all he could taste was smoke. It was several seconds before Kuwabara noticed that he _wasn't breathing_. The realization made him gasp fearfully—the first breath he had taken in nearly a minute. Terrified that he would forget to breathe and end up suffocating himself, Kuwabara just focused on keeping air moving in and out of his lungs. In. Out. In. Out…

"—abara…s…s…mthng…! …n…you…h…r me?" Yusuke's voice faded in and out, growing louder and clearer each time it broke through whatever cotton was blocking it out. Kuwabara forced himself to blink his dried-out eyes. "Heeyyyyy! Are you alive?"

Kuwabara jerked slightly.

"Of—course I am," he answered, voice a frayed whisper. It was too quiet for Yusuke to hear from such a distance. Kuwabara twitched his fingers and toes one at a time, the way he'd taught himself to when he was struck by sleep paralysis. Then he pushed himself up with his hands and pulled his whole body onto one of the white tiles, a small protected island surrounded by treacherous black. "I'm completely on top of this," he rasped more loudly, cringing at the pain this caused him. His vocal cords scraped together and his face felt like it had been deeply sunburnt.

Grunting, Kuwabara managed to rise to his feet. His knees were shaking so badly that he almost staggered back a step. Thankfully, he managed to redirect his foot so it landed on the white tile instead of the black.

"You're gonna pay for that one, Byakko," Kuwabara grated out. "It'll take more than a bolt of lightning to strike Kuwabara down."

Byakko chuckled. "IT SEEMS SO. TRULY, YOU HAVE SOME MAGNIFICENT STRENGTH IN YOU. IF ONLY MORE OF YOUR KIND HAD HAD SUCH FORTITUDE…" The Beast snurfed faintly. "OH WELL. THERE IS NO POINT IN DWELLING ON THE PAST… THE PRESENT IS WHAT IS IMPORTANT. COME! IT IS TIME TO END THIS STRUGGLE."

"Keh… You don't know crap about 'my kind,' Byakko," Kuwabara rasped. "But you're right about one thing. It's about time we end this."

And then he started running forward, trampling over white and black tiles alike.

"Kuwabara, no!" Yusuke screeched in panic. "Do you wanna get electrocuted again?" Yusuke looked to Byakko again, and sure enough the Tiger had raised his tail, preparing to electrify the bridge again. "_Kuwabara!_"

The tail lashed down, and Kuwabara hastily skidded to a stop on top of a white tile. _Come on… Come on…!_

Byakko growled and raised his tail again, and Kuwabara immediately resumed his mad dash toward him. Kurama gasped with surprise.

"Now I understand!" Kurama's eyes filled with admiration as Kuwabara stopped again, narrowly avoiding another shock. "Ingenious…"

"What's genius? All I see is a frickin' suicidal idiot playing a life or death game of Red-Light-Green-Light!" Yusuke snarled.

"But don't you see?" Byakko broke the circuit again, tail slashing agitatedly from side to side. "I don't think Byakko even realizes it. Most people wouldn't survive past one lightning strike, so he has never had to use more than one attack at a time…" Kurama's eyes gleamed and a small, knowing smirk appeared on his face. "He's wasting all of his power."

"What?" Yusuke looked at Byakko again, dumbfounded. "But—you mean he can _run out?_"

"Of course he can. No being, human or demon or god, has an infinite supply of energy," Hiei said. He looked nearly as impressed as Kurama, though he was trying hard not to show it. "And Byakko must be most prone to it; he lets out huge bursts of energy at a time. There has to be a limit to the number of times he can do that."

And sure enough, Byakko only managed to keep his power flowing for a few seconds longer. He let out a strange sound that could only be a feline's equivalent of _huh?_, and Kuwabara grinned victoriously.

"Heh… I figured." Kuwabara remembered back in the hallway, how he had collapsed after showing off his sword to Yusuke and the others. How he had expended too much power at once. "If I can run out of reiki, then so can you!" He started running toward Byakko, and this time the Tiger flinched back before lowering into a defensive crouch.

"HMPH. IMPRESSIVE STRATEGY… YOU'RE MUCH SMARTER THAN YOU LOOK," Byakko admitted. "BUT I DON'T NEED A BOLT OF LIGHTNING TO STRIKE YOU DOWN!"

Kuwabara let out a primal yell, swinging his arm to summon his rei sword, and Byakko roared.

In moments, Kuwabara was on the center platform and lunging toward Byakko. The Tiger leapt to the side, hissing loudly and batting at Kuwabara with one paw. Kuwabara moved aside, and the two circled each other fiercely, teeth bared and eyes flashing. Every few seconds one would see an opening and try to take advantage, but the other would dodge the hit and offer up a counter—a swipe of a sword, a scrape of claws.

"They're testing each other," Hiei said quietly. "This should be over quickly."

Yusuke groaned with frustration, watching the fight with clenched fists and gritted teeth. He sure hoped it would end soon; he didn't think he could stand much more of this.

At last, Kuwabara took a small step backward. Byakko pounced—raised both paws, catching Kuwabara on either shoulder—the human was falling backwards with the Tiger on top of him, jaw opening to reveal lethal fangs—they landed, Kuwabara on his back and Byakko on top of him—

And then the Tiger's eyes went wide with shock. His roar turned into a high-pitched whine.

And reiki burst from his back in a blaze of molten gold.

Yusuke and Kurama gasped, watching as Byakko whimpered and whined. The sword soon shrank back, and the Beast rolled over onto its side, keening. Kuwabara sat up, watching the bloody spectacle with a strange look on his face.

"I don't believe it. He really beat him," Yusuke said, voice soft with amazement. Byakko stopped whining after a moment and lay still. Taking this as a sign that the fight was over, Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei ran across the bridge to meet Kuwabara.

"That was frickin' awesome, man! You killed him!" Yusuke laughed. "And hey, if I ever say you suck again, just remind me how you went up against a giant freakin' _tiger_ and I'll shut up!"

"Yes. It was an excellent fight, Kuwabara," Kurama agreed, somewhat more subdued.

But by the time they reached the center of the bridge, Yusuke and the others realized that something was wrong. Kuwabara didn't look excited to have won his battle. He was sitting, eyes wide and mouth hanging open slightly, staring at Byakko.

"Hey…" Kuwabara moved over to Byakko and kneeled next to him. Yusuke and the others stared as the human boy reached out to the Tiger, putting his hand against the bloody wound he had made. Byakko whined faintly, and Kuwabara's brow knitted. "Does that hurt…?"

Yusuke's jaw dropped as Kuwabara's hand started to glow with ki. _You gotta be kidding me…_ He snapped his mouth shut and glared. "Kuwabara, just what the hell do you think you're doing? Byakko tried to kill you, and now you're helping him?"

Kuwabara didn't seem to hear, trying his best to heal the wound that was making Byakko whine and whimper with distress. Yusuke growled and opened his mouth to yell some more, but Kurama placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's all right, Yusuke," Kurama murmured. "This… This may be a good thing."

Hiei hummed with agreement, and Yusuke looked between the two of them, once again feeling like they knew something he didn't. Then a flare of white light drew Yusuke's attention. When he turned around, the Tiger was gone and Kuwabara was kneeling beside the white-haired man they had seen earlier. The man was on hand and knees, clutching at the barely-sealed wound with one hand, panting through his clenched teeth.

"That…was a magnificent battle…Kazuma Kuwabara," Byakko said softly. "You have proven yourself a hero worthy of legend… I concede." The hand supporting Byakko flexed slightly, claw-like fingernails scratching against the stone beneath him. "I can't offer much of a prize for your efforts…my powers have weakened considerably since our exile from the Spirit World. But what I have is at your disposal."

Yusuke stared, bug-eyed.

"Wait, wait,this is getting waaay too weird. Now _you're_ offering to help _us?_ What happened to you and your buddies sending plagues of insects into our city? And what do you mean, exile from the Spirit World?"

Yusuke straightened up suddenly, his eyes widening with shock. Then he narrowed his eyes and turned to Hiei and Kurama. In his head he replayed the words that had confused him before, but that seemed so stupidly obvious now. _'Let me guess, your friends in Spirit World sent you to combat some evil, __**demon**__ criminals…' 'I'm sure it isn't like that. It's a misunderstanding.'_ Yusuke looked at Kurama's surprisingly cold face, at Hiei's equally surprising look of indecision, and knew that this was what they had been keeping from him.

"All right, you two," Yusuke said firmly. "You've got explaining to do. And don't even think about playing dumb, because I _know_ you know more than you're telling me."

Hiei glanced sideways at Kurama, giving the distinct impression that he was checking for signs of punishment should he divulge the secret. Kurama closed his eyes and remained silent—not willing to take part, but at the same time not willing to stop it. Hiei raised his chin imperiously.

"I'm guessing Koenma doesn't want you to know—"

_-Then don't tell him.-_ Hiei stopped abruptly, wide eyes flying to Byakko. The Beast was looking up at him with yellow eyes glinting, fierce and bitter. -_Koenma was right, wasn't he? They all were.-_ Byakko jerked his head at Kuwabara, who was too busy wondering why Hiei had stopped talking to notice Byakko's movements. -_**His**__ existence proves that. If it helps them complete their mission here, then they don't need to know any details that would give them reason to doubt themselves.-_

Hiei stared at Byakko, uncomprehending. _–It's a lie. What Koenma told these two, it's all a lie. They think you're __**evil. **__We have to eliminate you as enemies, but you deserve the dignity of the truth.-_

_-What difference does it make? I see now that we were wrong. We judged humanity, and we judged wrongly. And the ramifications of our mistake… Imprisonment in this castle is not punishment enough.-_

"Hiei, what does Koenma not want us to know?" Yusuke demanded. Hiei's eyes flicked over to Yusuke, glanced briefly back at Byakko…and then they closed with an air of resignation.

"Nevermind," he said, voice completely monotone. "It has no bearing on our mission." He opened his eyes, looking at Byakko dully. "You. Can you take us to the Makai Whistle?"

Byakko bowed his head slightly, peering through his bangs. To everyone else it looked like a gesture of submission; to Hiei, it looked like gratitude.

"If you wish, I can take you to the watchtower. You will find the Whistle there."

"Good. Let's go."

Without another word, Hiei started off across the Path of Lightning. Byakko rose to his feet, keeping one hand securely over his belly as he followed Hiei. Yusuke and Kuwabara blinked after them.

"Why do I get a bad feeling about this?" Yusuke wondered aloud. Kuwabara, once more relegated to the background, was saying something along the lines of _I was the one who beat Byakko, why does Shrimpy get to order him around? _Kurama made no comment at all; he simply trailed after Hiei and Byakko. Grumbling but resigned to the fact that they weren't getting their way this time, Yusuke and Kuwabara hurried to catch up.

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><p><em>Ugh. Freakin' sloppy handling of what should have been an awesome plot thread... I disgrace myself. : I'm off. See you back here in a week or two. Hopefully I'll be a little less temperamental then.  
><em>


	9. Abandon All Hope…  Hiei vs Seiryu

Colorblind

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: 'Lo everyone. Thanks for sticking with this story for so long and waiting for the update. Life has been extremely unpleasant this past month and fanfics have not been at the top of my list of priorities. Thankfully, my tests on Tuesday ruled out cancer, so that's one less thing to worry about. Gotta appreciate the little things, you know?

**Please PM me if you would like to see the official Yu Yu Hakusho Saisei website. That's where you'll find illustrations, videos, and character profiles that I can't post on Fanfiction . net. It also has a few stories from the Saisei series that are exclusive to the official site and won't be published here on Fanfiction . net.**

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><p>Abandon All Hope…<p>

"I hate to say it," Yusuke admitted, "but it's a lot easier finding your way through this place when you know where you're going."

Byakko didn't respond, which only served to aggravate Yusuke more. They were making good time, and Yusuke knew he should be happy that they had such a helpful guide, but the whole situation was a bit galling. They came to forks in the road that would have stumped Yusuke for hours (or, barring that, gotten him killed in minutes), and Byakko kept going as if he couldn't even see the other paths. Call Yusuke petty, but he couldn't help feeling just a little insulted by how easy the Saint Beast made it look. Especially since he knew damn well that Byakko, Kurama and Hiei were all keeping something from him…

They had just passed through a large doorway when Byakko came to an abrupt halt. Yusuke was so surprised that he barely managed to stop in time. Kuwabara walked right into him, and the two humans stumbled around like jackasses while their teammates walked neatly around them.

"Jeez, a little warning would be nice!" Kuwabara griped.

"Why don't you just watch where you're going next time?" Yusuke turned around to see what had made Byakko stop. "Oh, great. Another one of these rooms," he said, eyeing the chamber of doors. There was a dull _clunk_ and loud scraping and churning sounds from somewhere ahead. Yusuke frowned suspiciously before turning to Byakko. "So, which one is it?"

Byakko's eyes moved cagily from door to door.

"I don't know. I can't tell," he said.

"How can you not tell?"

"The right door changes. You must use your awareness to find the correct path." Byakko could picture the complex assembly of machines on the other side, pulleys raising and lowering and shifting around entire sections of corridor. There was a series of loud clangs as the corridors locked into their new places, and Byakko frowned warily at the doors. "Normally I could choose the correct path myself, but without my energy, I have no spiritual awareness. I am of no use here."

Yusuke looked a little more upbeat—not just because he knew how to fix the problem, but because he was glad they didn't have to rely on Byakko for everything.

"Spirit awareness, huh?" He turned to Kuwabara. "That'll be your department."

"Why?" Hiei spoke up. An oval of blue light shone through his bandana. "He's not the only one with spiritual awareness."

Kuwabara drew himself up haughtily.

"You know what, Hiei? You could be the greatest fighter in the whole goshdarn world, but I know my spirit awareness is better than yours! Besides, even if your awareness were as good as mine, you and me would just pick the same door anyway!" Kurama smiled at his logic and Hiei snorted with disbelief. Kuwabara raised his chin, slouched off to the center of the room, and did a quick scan of the doors before walking up to one of them. "And this is the door we want!"

"Any objections, Hiei?" Yusuke asked. The little demon scowled but held his tongue. Yusuke grinned. "You heard the man! Let's go!"

The Spirit Detective walked forward to take his place at the head of his team, and Byakko hung back slightly, falling in step beside Kuwabara. He looked at the human with something akin to admiration.

"You have high spiritual awareness, as well? Once again, you impress," Byakko praised. Kuwabara scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed but pleased with the compliment.

"Yeah, I'm pretty awesome huh?" he laughed. Hiei sent a sullen look at them both, then glanced at Kurama. The youko offered him a small shrug and a smile of consolation. It seemed Yusuke was not the only one who was starting to feel useless.

* * *

><p>A steady flame lit the darkness of the watchtower, standing straight up on the end of a reed held by a slender hand. The flame was touched to the ends of several sticks of incense, which sent up pale wisps scented of cinnamon and sandalwood. The Master's eyes closed as he breathed in deeply, the better to appreciate the fragranced offerings. When his eyes opened again they held a hard glint that not even the soft glow of the flame could soften.<p>

"Miserable Byakko… I might have known he would turn on us," the Master glowered. "Always complaining about those 'silly samurai,' and as soon as one defeats him, he throws himself at their feet."

"He has always been that way, Master," Seiryu said. "Fealty to a single master is beyond him. He is not worthy of serving you."

"It seems not." The Master's firelit eyes slid over to Seiryu's kneeling form. "Seiryu, you remain my most loyal and most useful servant. Go… Show that _thing_ what happens when you betray your master."

Seiryu dissolved into a number of shadowy tendrils. The Master watched the tendrils slither across the floor before turning to look at Byakko's image in the crystal, happily chatting with that ugly orange-haired creature.

"Wretched thing…" A weak squawk of protest sounded somewhere in the dark, and the Master sent a sullen frown in its direction. "Oh, hush."

* * *

><p>Botan kneeled in an alley beside an unconscious human, her dented, bloodied baseball bat in one hand and her Communication Mirror in the other.<p>

"I'm afraid the news isn't good," she told Koenma, trying to ignore the noise as a gang of infected humans smashed up a display window across the street. "The insects are moving too fast for me to subdue everyone who's been taken over, and their numbers are continuing to grow. The police here have declared a riot alert. All I can do now is try to contain them into one part of the city."

"Very well. We'll just have to hope Yusuke gets the Whistle before—"

A sharp _bang_ made Botan curl up in a protective ball. One of the infected humans had thrown a homemade bomb through the window, filling the little shop with smoke and flame. The infected humans were fleeing the scene, knocking over trash cans and grabbing up merchandise on their way. It was a moment before Botan realized she could hear screams for help coming from inside the burning building. Botan bit her lip and turned back to her mirror, looking torn.

"…Just keep exterminating while you can," Koenma said gravely.

"I understand. Over and out."

* * *

><p>As the Urameshi Team climbed a wide flight of stairs, Yusuke grumbling every step of the way, they listened to Byakko's running commentary on their surroundings.<p>

"The Garden of Seiryu lies ahead," Byakko was saying. "We must pass through it to get to the watchtower."

They reached the top of the stairs, where there was a large set of doors. Aged green-brown statues of dragons stood to either side of the doors, and Kuwabara gaped at them with awe, certain that they were priceless. Hiei was less impressed with them—copper wasn't worth the trouble of stealing, and unlike the weaponry that lined Byakko's halls, these things had no practical application. Yusuke didn't register them as anything besides some pretentious décor, and Kurama (having assessed their monetary value down to the last yen and judged them worthless) was more interested in their intellectual significance. Like the engraving on the door of Byakko's chamber, these statues probably hinted at the Beast that lay ahead.

Byakko pushed the doors open. The room beyond was bigger than any other they had yet seen, and it had no ceiling save for a thick stretch of leafy canopy. It looked more like a forest than a garden, filled with trees of all shapes and sizes, every species Yusuke had ever seen and many more he hadn't. Roots crisscrossed the dirt-covered floor, some as thin as a hair and some thicker around than Yusuke's body.

Kurama approached one of the more bizarre trees, a stout, waist-height specimen with long slender leaves surrounding a large opening in the top of the trunk. He reached one hand out to the tree, only to pull back when it gurgled hungrily and sent a ropelike red tongue waving in his direction.

"These trees don't respond well to me," Kurama noted. "They must have been raised from seed by a powerful plant master…"

Byakko walked forward and called into the forest.

"Seiryu! Seiryu, we need to talk!"

A number of woody vines slithered across the floor like snakes. They gathered, twining around each other, until finally they formed a figure seemingly carved of wood. Soon the wooden figure shifted, gaining new color and texture from the feet up. Black linen pants and sky-blue shirt. A tunic of leaf-green silk with a lighter green dragon winding across the shoulders. Brown-black hair, coarse and bristly. Olive brown skin stretched over a roughly-hewn face. The eyes were the last to change, dry brown to glossy yellow. Tilting his head to one side, the Green Dragon cracked his neck with a groan before narrowing his eyes at the group.

"Byakko," Seiryu acknowledged coolly. "For you to set foot on this sacred ground is bad enough, but to bring these…" He eyed Yusuke and Kuwabara with distaste. "…_insects_ with you… I do hope you said your prayers."

Byakko swallowed uneasily, but he took another step toward his fellow Beast.

"Seiryu, you and the Master must have been watching us the entire time."

"Yes," Seiryu deadpanned.

"Then you know!" Byakko pointed one claw-tipped finger at Kuwabara. "You know that I judged him, and he defeated me! Do you realize what this means?"

"It means you have grown weak," Seiryu said coldly. "Weak for being defeated, and delusional for judging a human worthy of standing against you in the first place."

"No! Don't you see? If heroes like this exist on Earth, then everything we have believed—"

"_Silence!_" Seiryu snarled. "_How dare you speak to me of that world!_"

Several vines snapped out, lashing around Byakko's waist.

"Byakko!" Kuwabara gasped as the Tiger clawed uselessly at the vines. He turned to yell at Seiryu. "Hey, knock it off! You guys are supposed to be friends!" Seiryu didn't even spare him a glance, and the Urameshi Team gaped in horror as the vines lifted Byakko off his feet and raised him high into the air. The forest around them was making a terrible noise—something that reminded Yusuke of the groans of the undead, but he had never thought that _trees_ could make such a sound.

"Seiryu, you have to listen to me!" Byakko screamed, kicking and clawing and struggling. "As a guardian of the human world—"

"I am no longer a guard of that repugnant planet! None except the Master may call me their guardian!"

Several more vines shot out, their ends sharply angled and tinted a poisonous purple-green. Kurama let out a small shriek and leapt into action, raising a glowing hand and curling his fingers as if to grip the vines. The plants juddered to a stop, and Byakko stared in shock at the lethal tips suspended mere feet from him.

"Kurama! You okay?" Yusuke asked urgently.

"I—" The youko clenched his eyes shut and shook his head. "I don't have enough energy! I can't hold them!" He opened his eyes and sent a frantic look at his partner. "Hiei!"

Hiei was already moving, running full-tilt toward Seiryu and drawing his sword in a flash of gleaming steel. The Dragon looked at him with mild interest.

"Ah, shall you be first?" Seiryu said quietly. "Very well, young demon. Show me what you are capable of."

Hiei pulled his sword back and slashed in a sweeping arc, intent on killing the Dragon in one blow. But Seiryu flitted away at the last moment and Hiei was left to slice through a vine—three vines—a sapling— The sword swipes slowed as they met with progressively denser obstacles, finally meeting their match in a full-grown tree. Hiei growled with frustration, tugging uselessly at the blade lodged in a thick trunk. Seiryu leered at him.

"You didn't think you could chop down an entire forest with a single blade, did you?" Seiryu snickered.

Narrowing his eyes sharply, Hiei abandoned his sword and charged with one fist raised. Seiryu dodged again, and Hiei moved his other forearm defensively just as the Dragon tackled him from the side. The attack swept Hiei clear off his feet, but he managed to regain control of his trajectory by grabbing onto Seiryu's shoulder and using it to pull himself forward. Using a tree trunk as a springboard, he leapt back toward Seiryu, only to find the Dragon had vanished. He cursed and disappeared in a black blur.

"Jeez…cripes, they're fast…" Kuwabara rubbed his eyes, which could only pick up flickers of black and green-blue as they appeared and disappeared all over the forest. It was easier to track the collateral damage, dents shaped like Hiei's fists appearing in trees and scuff marks appearing in the dirt-covered floor. "Just trying to keep up with my eyes is making my head hurt."

"Yeah. Imagine trying to fight him," Yusuke put in. "I fought him myself about three weeks ago. Let's just say it wasn't one of my best moments." Yusuke could remember encountering Hiei's speed for the first time, how Hiei had vanished at his first punch. Yusuke had thought Hiei was teleporting, but really, he was just moving too fast for normal eyes to detect. Yusuke could follow Hiei's movements with his eyes now—Genkai's training had helped a lot—and it looked like the little demon had improved in leaps and bounds since their fight. Yet as much as Hiei's powers had increased, he seemed to be only on even footing with Seiryu…

_What I don't get,_ Yusuke thought as he watched Hiei's fist crack against a tree trunk, _is why he isn't using his youki._ Hiei's speed had been formidable, but it was his fiery green youki that had really made the difference during their fight. One punch had left Yusuke's hand covered with blisters, and a series of them had knocked him senseless. Youki was Hiei's greatest weapon, so why wasn't he using it now? Why default to a simple sword and plain old punches…?

A whimper of distress made Yusuke's eyes snap to Kurama. To his shock, the youko's energy was starting to change. No longer soft, deep pink petals, the youki had begun to pale, the edges of the petals becoming sharp. So sharp that they left cuts and streaks of blood as they trailed over Kurama's hands… Yusuke had seen this once before, when Botan had strained her energy to keep Keiko's Jagan from opening. Her hands had been singed by her own sun-bright reiki, and now the same thing was happening to Kurama, his own power starting to hurt him.

"Kurama?" Yusuke said worriedly.

"Nghh…" Sweat trickled down Kurama's face as he struggled to keep his hold over the vines. Despite his best efforts, he could feel something slipping. "Rnnn_no!_" Three vines had broken free, and Kurama bit his lip regretfully at the pained yells from Byakko. Yusuke stared at his teammate, then glanced up to see what had happened.

A drop of blood fell on his forehead.

"Oh my God," Yusuke whispered. The vines had pierced Byakko through, stabbing into his left shoulder, ribs and abdomen. The Tiger was coughing through his nose, keeping his mouth tightly closed in a vain attempt to keep his blood from spilling out. The vine lodged between his ribs must have punctured a lung. "He's gonna die up there…"

"Then I'll get him down!" Kuwabara declared, moving his hand to summon his sword.

"You _can't_…" Kurama ground out. "If you…try to get him down that way…the fall alone will kill him…"

Yusuke glanced between Kuwabara, Kurama and Byakko, then looked to the battlefield where Hiei was chasing Seiryu. Seiryu punched Hiei hard in the cheek, sending the demon crashing headfirst toward the ground. Hiei threw out his hands to catch himself at the last moment, doing a quick forward handspring and landing in a crouch. He turned his head to spit out some blood and sent a glare at the Dragon. No closer to beating him than he was minutes ago.

Frowning, Yusuke closed his eyes and took a focusing breath. Then he made his own mad dash.

"Urameshi! What are you _doing?_" Kuwabara yelled.

"No one ever said this fight had to be one-on-one!" Yusuke shouted back.

Hiei's eyes snapped wide, and Seiryu smirked.

"Tsk… Interrupting a duel? Humans, so impolite," Seiryu said, never taking his eyes off Hiei's crouched form. His amused smirk turned into a cruel smile as woody tendrils unwound themselves from the trees.

As Yusuke charged toward Seiryu and Hiei, a wave of vines hit. Yusuke had no trouble with them, punching through the first two with blue-glowing fists, ducking and dodging and (embarrassingly) twirling around the next batch. A few tree roots snapped up from behind and latched around Yusuke's shoulders and neck in an attempt to restrain him. Ripping through them was easy enough, and Yusuke was just staggering forward, trying to regain his balance after breaking free, when he saw the trees all around him writhing.

"Yeah… Did not think this through," Yusuke said. Vines and roots and branches all lashed out, a hundred at once, and Yusuke raised his arms defensively—

And suddenly he was being shoved down onto his back, and a wave of painful heat was washing over him. Yusuke opened his eyes and saw a domelike shell of green energy above him, flash-frying the vines the moment they hit. The shell flickered and faded after a moment, and Yusuke glanced down to find narrowed red eyes glaring up at him.

"You are _not_ helping," Hiei said, rolling sideways off of Yusuke and shifting his weight so he could roll forward onto his feet. "Just stay out of the way before you get yourself killed."

Seiryu laughed.

"Quite a soft spot you have there!" he mocked. "I left myself open, and instead of killing me and ending the battle you chose to save him. What is going through that head of yours?"

"Hiei?" Yusuke asked, his voice soft with wonder. The little demon was unreadable, his head bowed so his hair fell into his eyes.

"Soft spot…? Not quite. I only saved him because he saved my life once. It would be _impolite_ to let him die when I'm in his debt." Hiei rose to his full height, but his movements were strange…slower than Yusuke had ever seen him. The air was warming, turning hot, then stifling. Hiei's lips curved in a small, predatory smile as he slowly reached up to pull off his bandana. "You should be grateful. If I only had to look out for myself, I would have destroyed you in the blink of an eye." His Jagan opened, flashing with blue light as it swiveled around to focus on Seiryu. "But I've been holding back because I wasn't sure _they_ would survive."

Seiryu narrowed his eyes. "Fool. Why bother defending them? These humans have no concept of civility. They're worthless, primitive creatures not fit to be called beasts. Why do you think we abandoned them all those years ago? They are not worthy of protection."

"Oh," Hiei's smile widened, "I agree. Don't mistake the issue. I don't give a damn about humans as a species, and I didn't come to this castle to play the hero." His voice turned quiet, taking on a threatening tone that made Yusuke shiver. "I only came here to kill you."

Hiei started to run forward, and Seiryu sneered.

"Kill me? You'll never get near me. You seem to forget, the very ground on which you stand is under my control." As if to prove his point, the roots that covered the floor began to rise and fall like the waves of an ocean. Yusuke yelped, forming a blue-white ki shell around himself. He was only just in time: roots pushed up against it, soon swelling up to swallow him and his ki barrier whole.

"Holy crap, this is dangerous!" Kuwabara squeaked, his hands instinctively drawn into fists as his eyes flew around the expanding forest. Everything seemed to be getting bigger, and that terrible groaning was back, the wood creaking as it grew to monstrous proportions.

Kurama's brows knitted. "Kuwabara… Do you know how to make a ki shield?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Then stand close to me. I can't spare the energy for it."

Hiei kept on running as the land around him turned wild, branches swinging over his head, roots rising up to block his path. He ignored them all, never faltering or changing course—the plants all spontaneously combusted before they could reach him. A particularly large root lifted in front of him, and he leapt onto it, racing along its length and leaving a trail of green fire in his wake. The root lurched in an attempt to throw him off, and Hiei leapt onto another root, then a tree branch. Each leap took him higher, further away from Seiryu. Soon he was on top of the Dragon, but too far above, nearly at the same height as Byakko's limply hanging body…

Without sparing a moment, Hiei dove.

"Y…you…!" Seiryu stared at the dark-haired creature hurtling toward him, one hand outstretched in a mockery of an angel's hand of mercy. "You will not defeat ME!" Seiryu thundered, vines and trees all bending, curving toward him, merging. Seiryu's human-shaped body was enclosed in the wood, and with a rumble and a deafening roar, an enormous dragon head emerged. Its eyes flashed jade-green, its jaws opened wide to reveal fangs as long as swords—

"Look out!" Kuwabara screamed, but it was too late. Hiei fell into the Dragon's mouth, and the jaws snapped shut. Kuwabara stared, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open in dumb shock as Seiryu gulped his victim down like a snake swallowing a mouse. "I… I don't believe it… He's really…"

Kurama blinked and took in a sharp breath. A moment later, the Dragon made a noise that sounded like a cough. It started to screech, wisps of smoke issuing from its nostrils.

"Is it gonna breathe fire?!" Kuwabara yelped. Kurama took a step forward, his eyes shining hopefully.

"_Hiei!_" Kurama gasped.

The Dragon's mouth opened, emitting a pillar of green fire. Hiei leapt out from the blaze, landing in a crouch on the ground not far from Kuwabara and Kurama. He rose to his feet and glanced over his shoulder, watching as the demonic fire continued to burn. The Dragon's head swayed in circles, once, twice. Then it fell to the ground with a resounding crash, breaking tree trunks and shaking leaves loose from the trees as it went. The flames engulfed the Dragon's head and quickly spread to the trees around it.

"They _have_ gotten weaker since they were locked in this castle," Hiei noted idly. "That was almost too easy."

"Easy!" Kuwabara choked, thinking of all the trouble he had gone through during his own fight. He was just about to argue when Hiei's eyes went wide, as if he had just remembered something. The demon flitted off, reappearing in the middle of the forest. Plunging his hand into the roots covering the ground, he made a fist-shaped hole that quickly expanded as the roots turned to pale ash. Blue light shone from inside the hole, and moments later Yusuke's hands poked through. Soon the Spirit Detective dug his way out, coughing and covered with ashes.

"Jeez… Remind me never to interrupt one of your fights again," Yusuke said, shaking his head to remove ash from his hair. He sneezed, and Hiei smirked down at him.

"You _really_ thought I couldn't handle him?" Hiei asked, amused. "You of all people should know not to underestimate me."

Yusuke frowned at the ground, feeling rather stupid for his part in the fight. He blinked in surprise when a hand was extended toward him. He glanced back up, staring at Hiei for a moment. His mouth stretched in a pleased little grin as he accepted the offered hand.

"I won't make that mistake again," Yusuke said as Hiei pulled him to his feet. His grin slid away when he remembered what had incited the fight in the first place. "I almost forgot! Is Byakko—?"

Hiei's rare smile faded. He shoved his hands in his pockets, shoulders stiffening and eyes dropping to the ground somewhere to his left. Yusuke glanced toward his friends, seeing how Kuwabara's face had fallen and how Kurama stared, guilt-ridden, at his own mutilated hands. Brow crinkling up with distress, Yusuke looked up at the top of the tower of vines.

He flinched and looked away.

"Right," Yusuke said, voice shaky and face pale. "I guess we… We should get going."

The others nodded and slowly trudged forward to take their usual places. They made their way across the blazing forest, their steps slow and in sync as a funeral march. Yusuke keeping his chin up and his eyes focused on the path ahead. Kuwabara staring glumly at the ground in front of him. Hiei bumping his elbow lightly against Kurama's side, sending the dull-eyed youko a stern, bracing look.

High above the Garden of Seiryu, the wind blew gently. It stirred pale ashes from the burning trees below, lifting them high up into the air, up to where Byakko's body hung. The wind drifted through his long hair, as soothing as a mother's hand. One last benediction for the fallen Saint Beast.

* * *

><p><em>And that's the end of that chapter. I know the ending is rushed, but honestly, I was just too excited to have finished the chapter to do much editing at the end. Especially since I had to rewrite three-quarters of this chapter from scratch after my harddrive was wiped. Bleh. What a shitty month. TT_TT<br>_

_-Jeez. I kind of feel bad that I had to kill Byakko off. Poor guy. And poor Kuwabara for losing his only really respectful opponent until the Sensui Arc. Sighhh.  
><em>


	10. Prelude to Carnage

Colorblind

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: And here we are, another chapter! I'd just like to say that I really appreciate the reviews I've been getting. So far the response to the Saisei Project has been overwhelmingly positive, and some of the reviews I've gotten have been so heartening that they've gotten me to write even after 14-hour work days. Such is the case with this chapter, so extra-special thanks to those reviewers who help me remember that this project isn't just for myself anymore. :) In other news OMG NEW LAPTOP IT IS THE BEST SO HAPPY ASDFJKL; AND OMG ALMOST FULL WEEK OFF WORK IS IT CHRISTMAS? 8D

-The character in this chapter, Natsuko, is Keiko's friend in canon. She's the shorter, dark-haired one with glasses, and the manga gave her name as Natsuko in the first book. The other friend was never named, so I decided to call her Akemi because of her light hair.

* * *

><p>Prelude to Carnage<p>

In the tower, the Master watched with shuttered eyes as the band of humans and youkai left the ravaged garden behind them. Godless creatures… Walking the hallowed halls of his castle as if they owned it, the humans complaining about its lack of earthly comforts and the little demon assessing the sacred artifacts with the eyes of a thief. The other youkai, misplaced in a human body, the worst blasphemer of all for daring to steal the divine power of rebirth for himself. Every one of them a walking embodiment of sin. And they had murdered three of his gods.

The Master raised his eyes from the crystal globe, staring coldly at the wall as he lifted the precious artifact with one hand. He raised it to his lips and closed his eyes.

"_Fire of Suzaku, illuminate the darkness of my mind,_" the Master uttered. "_Shed light upon the path I seek._"

The orb began to glow with reddish light, and when the Master opened his eyes again a new image had appeared in the scrying crystal. A young maiden, somewhat pretty in spite of her short hair and bizarre clothes. The Master tipped his head as the girl scribbled with a strange pen on a square yellow block. Despite her inelegant calligraphy, she was using complex characters that only a scholar would know. The signature at the bottom identified the girl only as Keiko.

Narrowing his eyes at Keiko, the Master peered into her soul and saw clear imprints of memory all over it. A little boy sitting, abandoned on a playground, his disappointed frown changing into a smile as the girl ran up to him and guilelessly asked to be his friend. That same boy, several years older, laughing as she chased him along a sunny riverbank. And then the boy, nearly a young man now, laying as still as a corpse while she cried over him.

"So," the Master said softly, stricken by the memory of Keiko screaming with joy and throwing herself into the boy's arms. "This is the chink in the fearless leader's armor?"

There was a soft sound, a croon that might once have been musical if it weren't so very weak.

"Well then… Let us tear that chink open and expose the weak creature within." The Master raised the Makai Whistle to his lips. "Prelude to Carnage in A Minor… A fitting piece to start this battle…" The Master smiled against the Whistle. "Right, Suzaku?"

* * *

><p>Botan lifted her baseball bat high above her head and swung it down, cracking against a man's skull. There was barely enough time to watch the man fall before more power-hungry groans came from nearby and two infected humans emerged from an alley. Gritting her teeth, Botan spun around and ran for it. As she hurried up the street, she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her Communication Mirror.<p>

"Listen to me, Koenma! I have to abort this mission!" Another human that had been vandalizing a mailbox joined the two who were chasing Botan. "The infected humans are starting to work together; I can't fight them anymore!"

Koenma was on the edge of his seat, watching the whole thing from his office. "I understand! Get yourself to higher ground Botan! I can't afford to lose you now!"

Botan was so distracted talking to Koenma, and so tired from her prolonged battle with the insects, that she ran right into someone. She staggered and crashed to the ground, landing hard on her shoulder. Moaning with pain, she started to push herself up. She froze when she saw the person's face, pale and disoriented, pupils retracted, mouth frothing.

The infected human stared down at her, his mouth unfurling into an evil smile as he reached both hands out to her. Botan scrambled backward, turning around and trying to climb to her feet, but the man grabbed her by her ponytail and dragged her back toward him. The Communication Mirror dropped to the ground with a clatter.

"_Koenma!_" Botan screamed. They were all around her now, and she was struggling, on the verge of sobbing as they grabbed her arms and tore at her jacket—

Botan was scared witless, so much so that she didn't even notice when the humans all stopped moving. She _did_ notice when they let her go. Botan blinked, staring at the trio as they flocked down the street. More joined them along the way.

"W-where are they all going?" Botan wondered, her eyes moving down the street. Straight ahead was… "Yusuke's school?"

* * *

><p>Keiko stepped into 2-B and glanced around, a small frown on her face.<p>

"Where is everyone?" she asked Natsuko. The shorter girl looked up at her nervously and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"If I had to guess, I'd say they're home," Natsuko said. "Akemi's dad wouldn't even let her out of the house this morning. Everybody's scared of all these riots…"

Keiko looked around at the five other kids who had been brave enough to show up for class. Yusuke was not among them. It wasn't surprising—he didn't even come to school under normal circumstances. But the least he could have done was call her. _Yusuke… I haven't heard from him in three days, since the riots started._ For all Keiko knew, he'd been caught up in one of the random acts of violence. _What if he's hurt somewhere, or worse?_

"Well, we're here," Keiko said loudly, defiantly. She didn't want to get herself worked up by jumping to conclusions. "Is the teacher—"

"Good morning," a firm voice said, startling Keiko. She glanced over her shoulder to find Takenaka standing in the doorway behind her. He gave her a kindly smile. "Miss Yukimura, what are you doing out of your seat?"

Keiko smiled back at him. "Sorry, sir."

As she hurried to her desk, Takenaka addressed the class.

"I see there aren't many of us today," Takenaka said, looking around at the six students. "Those of you who showed up in spite of recent events are truly dedicated students. But while school _is_ important," he stressed, "I don't want any of you taking unnecessary risks. So if things have not quieted down by tomorrow, I ask that you all stay home. You can always catch up on missed work later." He gave the students a strong smile. "Now then. Since you did show up for class today, let's do some work. I believe I asked you to read and respond to Akutagawa's 'In A Bamboo Grove' last night…"

* * *

><p>After the bell rang and Takenaka left, the students began to take out homework and textbooks for their next class.<p>

"Keiko?" Natsuko put up one hand in imitation of a prayer. "Can you come with me to the bathroom? I'm scared to go by myself."

Keiko smiled reassuringly, and the two girls left the classroom. As Natsuko locked herself into one of the stalls, Keiko stood at the sink and washed her hands. While she was drying her hands, Natsuko's voice drifted out from inside the stall.

"Hey… Keiko? Last night's homework was pretty tough, huh?"

"Not really. I thought the story was really interesting," Keiko smiled.

"Yeah," Natsuko laughed a little bit, "it sounded like it. Your response was really good. Mr. Takenaka liked it a lot, I could tell." Keiko smiled at her own reflection in the mirror, proud of her work. In the stall, Natsuko smiled too. "…I spent hours working on mine. Reading, rereading, trying to find the right angle for a perfect response. Writing rough drafts. Editing…" Natsuko lowered her head, her bangs shadowing her eyes. "He barely raised an eyebrow at mine."

Keiko's expression went from happy to crestfallen. "You know that's not true. Your response was great."

"Not like yours. It's always like that. My parents want me to get good grades, get into a good college, but next to you…I'm just average." Natsuko folded her hands over her lap, not hearing the soft buzz of wings or seeing the thing that landed on her shoulder. "Average brains, average looks, average everything…"

Keiko peered at the reflection of Natsuko's stall in the mirror.

"Natsuko, you shouldn't worry so much," she said sincerely. "You _are_ smart, and comparing yourself to everyone else will just get you down. Don't try to impress someone else. Just do your own personal best and be happy knowing you gave it your best shot."

The lock on the stall door clinked, and Keiko turned around, ready to give her friend a supportive smile. The door slowly swung inward, but Natsuko didn't come out. Keiko blinked.

"Natsuko?" she called uncertainly.

The seconds crawled by. Then, slowly, Natsuko walked out of the stall. She paused just outside the door, staring at Keiko with wide, unblinking eyes. Slowly, oh so slowly, her head tipped sideways until her ear was nearly touching her shoulder.

"Keeeiiikooo?" she said, never once blinking. It had been almost a minute, she should have blinked by now.

"A-are you okay?" Keiko asked. Starting to tremble. "You look a little…out of it…"

Natsuko took a step toward Keiko. Her movements were strange, jerking, like she was a puppet and the person controlling her hadn't quite figured out how to pull her strings yet. Keiko slowly backed up, subtly making her way to the exit. Natsuko stopped walking, and Keiko took in a sharp breath, seeing her chance. She spun around, reaching for the door handle. But she couldn't open the heavy door fast enough.

In an instant Natsuko was on her, clawing at Keiko with her fingernails, growling like a rabid dog. Keiko shrieked in fright, struggling to push her friend away—"Natsuko, stop! What's wrong with you?"—only to scream as the other girl sank merciless teeth into her exposed neck.

Keiko grabbed Natsuko's head, forced her away, and slapped her as hard as she could.

The other girl flew sideways, crashing into the sink and bashing her head against it. Keiko stared, grasping the bitemark on her neck, panting and panicking. With a shaky gasp, she jerked open the bathroom door and ran for her life.

A soft laugh followed her.

Natsuko raised her head, blood pouring down from her brow where it had hit the faucet. The thing controlling her didn't even care that one side of her glasses was now covered with red liquid.

"Where ya goin', Keiko?" she asked sweetly, a psychotic grin stretching across her normally timid lips.

* * *

><p>Kuwabara gasped and stumbled to a stop.<p>

"What now? Got cramps?" Yusuke asked impatiently. Kuwabara brought a hand to his forehead, closing his eyes tightly as if fighting off a migraine.

"My head is _killing_ me. I think it's a premonition. Something bad is happening…" Kuwabara lowered his hand and sent a serious look at Yusuke. "I think back on Earth."

Kurama frowned deeply. "The last Beast must have organized a counterassault using the Makai insects."

Hiei met Yusuke's eyes. "Then I suggest we take care of him quickly."

The others nodded, and they resumed their run up the spiralling staircase. Only distantly aware that somehow, the stakes of this mission were much higher than they were before.

* * *

><p><em>End chapter<em>

_Okay, so I maybe had a little too much fun writing the scene where Keiko's friend gets taken over by Makai insects. Was it at least a little creepy? I hope so. I wanted to write a scene that actually depicted how 'the mind of a depressed person' gets taken over, and I also wanted to show Keiko's better qualities (which, like Kuwabara's, seem too often to be overlooked). Overall, I'm actually happy with this chapter! :D Don't forget to read and review!_


	11. The Last of the Saint Beasts…

Colorblind

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Here's a new chapter. I'm fairly pleased with how this turned out. I haven't really had a whole lot of practice writing Yusuke, and when I do I feel like he only has three emotional states, but hopefully these next few chapters will give him more depth. This is also the last time all four boys are going to be together until the end of the story, and I wanted them to part on a high note, so this chapter is full of random moments of silliness. :D

* * *

><p>The Last of the Saint Beasts<em>…<em>

Above Maze Castle, thunder rumbled as the storm clouds crashed into each other. Lightning lit the clouds from behind, changing them from dark brown to pale. Soon, a faint _shh_ sounded throughout the land. Rain had begun to pour, pattering heavily against the stone structure. By the time the Urameshi Team reached the top of the castle, it was soaked.

Kuwabara raised his eyes to the sky as light flashed across it once more. Kurama held out a hand to catch the raindrops, measuring them to see how they would affect their progress. Hiei wrinkled his nose distastefully at the water.

Yusuke didn't notice a thing.

"So that's the watchtower," he said, eyes locked on the tall tower ahead. "We're coming up on the end of this mission, guys. Just one more Beast and we're done."

"_Just_ one more Beast?" Kuwabara raised his chin and sent a critical look down at Yusuke. "Listen Urameshi, I know we made it look easy and all, but these guys are actually pretty tough."

"And I'm sure the last of the Beasts is the strongest," Hiei pointed out.

"Well, good for him," Yusuke said brazenly. "He might last five minutes."

Kurama sweatdropped while Kuwabara and Hiei sent dirty looks at Yusuke. The Spirit Detective either hadn't gotten the message or just thought he was that strong—either way, he wasn't taking them seriously. But Yusuke was already running toward the tower, and there was no time to dwell on the matter. Kurama ran after their leader, and Hiei followed moments later. Kuwabara sighed in exasperation before going after the others.

* * *

><p><em>What happened to Natsuko? I've never seen her act that way before. It was like she was a different person…!<em>

Keiko tore down the hall, adrenaline pushing her to move quickly even though the danger had passed. She was making her way to the nurse's office, all the while trying to come up with some kind of explanation for what had happened. What in the world could have made one of her best friends attack her like that? Academic envy was one thing, and Keiko knew that some people did awful things out of jealousy, but Natsuko just wasn't that kind of girl. She wouldn't even pull a prank, much less hurt someone… Had she snapped under the pressure from studying?

A door opened up ahead. Keiko stopped in her tracks as a man in a green striped suit walked out of a classroom and let the door swing shut behind him.

"Mr. Iwamoto!" Keiko ran toward him. He paused but didn't turn toward her. "Mr. Iwamoto, there's something wrong with my friend! She…she _attacked_ me…" Keiko gripped her wounded neck more tightly. "I think she might be having some kind of nervous breakdown. She's in the bathroom now, she—"

But Keiko trailed off when Iwamoto finally turned to look at her. He had the same glassy, unfocused eyes as Natsuko. Keiko's stomach lurched.

"S…sir…?"

Iwamoto tilted his head back and to the side, that same puppet-like limpness to his movements, and slowly reached out to her with one hand. Keiko's blood ran cold when she saw the deep, oozing red scratches up and down his arm. Sets of four in the pattern of human fingernails… Keiko gasped and slapped his hand away, ducking under his arm to run past him.

Watching as Keiko ran down the hall, Iwamoto scoffed. Natsuko, grinning maniacally even as her head wound continued to paint one side of her face red, stepped up beside him. They started off in the direction Keiko had gone—leaving behind the classroom where four students lay unconscious, beaten and strangled by their own teacher.

* * *

><p><em>Something is very wrong here<em>, Keiko thought as she shoved her way through the school's front entrance. She wished she had taken her cell phone with her so she could call the police, but she had left it in her bag back in the classroom. It hadn't seemed like a big deal when she'd left for the bathroom, yet now she was mentally kicking herself for making such a mistake. Still, it wasn't the end of the world. She just had to get off school campus and find someplace safe. There were two neighborhood police boxes less than a block away in either direction_. If I can get to a police box, then maybe—_

Keiko abruptly stopped running. The front gates of the school were blocked off by a small army of people. Even from far away, Keiko could see the way their heads flopped around and the way their steps stumbled.

_This…_ Keiko took a step back with trembling legs, eyes wide with disbelief. _This doesn't make sense… Why are they all coming __**here**__?_

One of the people spotted her and turned in her direction.

"Yukimuraaaa," he rasped. Keiko's face went ashen. One by one, the mob that had been milling about all turned to look at her, all began to mutter her name.

Whimpering, shaking her head in denial, Keiko bolted.

_Those fanatics are all after __**me**__! _She hurried along the side of the school building, taking the shrubby path that led to the athletic center._ But why? How do they even know who I am? None of this makes any sense!_

As Keiko glanced over her shoulder to check how far behind they were, a hand reached out and grabbed her by the arm. She screamed in terror as she was dragged in between a pair of bushes, one hand clamping over her mouth while the arm that had grabbed her wrapped tight around her middle and pulled her close against a feminine body.

"Keiko, _please_ don't scream," a voice whispered. "You'll give away our position."

Keiko took a deep breath through her nose, her eyes flicking to the side as the person who had grabbed her let her go.

"You're…"

"Botan," the blue-haired girl reminded her distractedly, reaching into her jacket and pulling out a powder compact. Keiko was about to say that this really was not the time to check her makeup, but then Botan opened the compact and lifted up the applicator and powder to reveal something that definitely _wasn't _makeup. Keiko stared blankly at the strange gadget as Botan pressed a button. The ordinary-looking mirror turned black and a beeping ringtone sounded.

Then Yusuke's annoyed-looking face appeared in the mirror.

"_Botan, we are literally spitting distance from the last Saint Beast—_"

"Yusuke, we have a problem," Botan cut him off. She angled the mirror slightly to the side.

* * *

><p>"Keiko?!" Yusuke yelped, his annoyance changing to panic the moment he saw her. "What—"<p>

"_No time for that, Yusuke. Here's the situation._ _We're at your school right now, and from the looks of things, just about everyone who's infected is here. They all just dropped everything and headed over in droves,_" Botan explained. Her eyes shone intently. "_Yusuke… I think the Saint Beasts sent them after Keiko. They probably want to use her as a hostage._"

"Are you serious?"

"_Do you think I would joke about something like this?_" Botan shot back.

"No, but—"

"_Yukimura!_" There were twin gasps, a rustle of leaves, and then the world was a blur as the mirror dropped to the ground. Botan screamed "_Look out!_" and Yusuke had a brief glimpse of Botan tackling Keiko out of the way before the picture dissolved into static.

* * *

><p>"Are you all right?" Botan asked. Keiko didn't have a second to answer as an old man with a large pair of gardening shears continued to snap his way through the shrubbery they had hidden behind. The man's grinning, drooling face was visible through the hole he'd made, and Botan's expression firmed as she raised her hand. A spray can materialized, and Botan quickly aimed it at the man's face. He snarled and staggered backwards, rubbing at his eyes.<p>

"Nothing beats bug spray from the Spirit World," Botan said with grim satisfaction. Keiko blinked up at her (_Spirit World?_), and Botan turned to offer her a hand up. Keiko accepted the hand, and the two girls fled.

* * *

><p>"Botan! Are you there? Botan!" Yusuke yelled, having seen none of the dramatic escape. The Communication Mirror remained blank, and Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei all watched as Yusuke continued to yell at it in vain.<p>

"Yusuke, that won't do them any good," Kurama finally spoke up. "The only thing we can do to help them is destroy the Whistle."

Yusuke growled furiously and thrust the mirror back into his pocket.

"Let's go then! We've gotta smash that Whistle as fast as we can!"

* * *

><p>The Master watched the detective team in his crystal, a small smile playing across his lips.<p>

"Well now. Looks like that struck a nerve," he observed. The image switched back to Keiko, who was now accompanied by a blue-haired girl. "But I need my hostage subdued before he gets here." The Master twirled the flute between his fingers like a baton and raised it to his lips again. "Shall I send out a welcoming party?"

* * *

><p>Through the rain and the thunder and the pounding of his own blood in his ears, Kuwabara could hear a strange sound.<p>

"Is anyone else hearing that?" Kuwabara asked, listening to the high wooden notes. "What the heck is that creepy noise…?"

Kurama clenched his fists and stared at the top of the tower through waterlogged bangs.

"He's playing the Whistle. That's not a good sign."

Yusuke frowned, but then he caught sight of a door at the foot of the tower.

"There! That's our door!" His eyes widened slightly, blinking in surprise and then narrowing. There was movement in the two dark arches to the sides of the tower. The detective team all stopped in their tracks, watching the archways closely for signs of life. Soon, _things _began to emerge from the darkness. They were ugly, filthy creatures, starved and battle-scarred, moving on bent legs with their knuckles on the ground like apes. Their faces were half-hidden behind manes of matted hair, but every once in a while there was a glimpse of sightless eyes and frothing mouths full of rotting, bloodstained teeth.

"What the hell are those things?" Yusuke asked.

All emotion drained from Kurama's face.

"You don't recognize them, Yusuke?" he said softly. He watched as the creatures gathered around the foot of the tower like a herd of animals—a herd that kept on growing by the minute, their numbers quickly rising to thirty, forty… "_Those things_ are what happen when the insects take a host for a prolonged period."

Kuwabara's face twisted with horror. "You mean they're _human?_"

"No," Hiei said coolly. "Their humanity died long ago. They're nothing but shells now."

"Well, _whatever_ they are, they're blocking our way!" Yusuke yelled angrily.

"Then we'll just have to fight our way through." Yusuke blinked at Kurama's proposition, a little taken aback (for some reason he had been expecting something more complicated). Hiei unsheathed his sword, clearly approving of the plan, and Yusuke and Kuwabara glanced at each other. Their surprised looks faded into eager smirks.

"Heh. Works for me," Yusuke said.

"Poor guys. I'm gonna feel bad kicking their butts," Kuwabara commented solemnly. He raised one fist dramatically and patted his bicep, his eyes gleaming as imaginary banners reading _The Great Hero Kuwabara!_ and other such nonsense unfurled all around him. "But if there's really nothin' left in there but a bunch of bugs, I guess it's up to Kuwabara and his team to put them out of their misery!"

_**Your**__ team?_ Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei all managed to think simultaneously, faces showing various degrees of amusement or discontent. Oh well. They'd get things straightened out later.

With that, the Urameshi Team charged.

The insect-humans prowled around, gnashing red-black teeth warningly as the team raced toward them. This did little good once Yusuke and Hiei ran into their midst, Yusuke delivering a flurry of punches while Hiei slashed and stabbed anything that got within two feet of him. Kurama hit next, twisting into an elegant spinning kick that knocked his first opponent back into the next three, who slipped on the wet stone and fell. Kuwabara, last to arrive to the party, simply bulldozed through everyone that was left in his path.

"At least they're not tough!" Yusuke said.

"Of course not. They're like fugaki; they'll overwhelm you with sheer numbers." Hiei sent a sideways glance at Yusuke. "Move forward. Try to get to the door."

"Bet I get there first," Yusuke taunted. Hiei rolled his eyes.

"Utterly ridiculous…" But Yusuke couldn't help noticing how Hiei sped up his own approach to the door. Apparently the challenge wasn't ridiculous enough to prevent him from accepting. Yusuke smirked. Who said Hiei was no fun?

It took a minute of punching, kicking, shoving, and occasionally stepping on top of fallen bodies, but Yusuke finally managed to reach the entryway. One of the insect-humans crashed into him at the last moment, slamming him chest-first into the wall just to the left of the doorway. Growling with annoyance, Yusuke used his feet against the wall as a lever so he could push back against his attacker. The insect ended up bumping a few of his fellows over like bowling pins, and Yusuke grinned over his shoulder at the mess of tangled bodies before running through the door.

His grin fell when he heard the loud rattle and clang behind him. Yusuke whipped around and found himself staring at a black iron grille and a glowing red energy barrier.

"Guys!" Yusuke scrambled to the door, trying to pull it back up, but in spite of his reiki-enhanced strength the thing wouldn't budge. Nothing was getting through, not even the rain that pounded insistently against the forcefield. "The door—damn it—it won't move!"

Hiei, who was just on the other side, cursed softly as he stabbed an insect-human and then kicked its still-falling body off of his sword. He spun around, water droplets rolling in streams off of the ends of his coat, and slashed through another insect to his right, then shoved his sword under his arm to stab one who had been sneaking up behind him. Yusuke watched the whole thing with admiration. Damn if Hiei didn't look cool when he fought.

"Just go!" Hiei snarled. "We will deal with the rest of them."

"We will be waiting right here when you get back," Kurama called out, several feet behind.

"Yeah! Beat the last Beast, and then we can all go back to Earth together!" Kuwabara shouted from even further away.

Yusuke stared at them for a moment, one hand resting on the iron bars as he watched the three fighters gravitate toward each other—Kuwabara moving forward, Hiei stepping back, and Kurama shifting slightly to the side to make room for the other two. Odd, really. They moved like they had been fighting together for years rather than just days. Like they were best friends rather than near-strangers.

"…Thanks, guys," Yusuke said finally, seriously. "I'll see you when this is all over."

"Right back at you, Urameshi!" Kuwabara said, mouth curved in a smile that helped soften his bony features. Hiei nodded his agreement and Kurama tossed his soaked hair. Yusuke smiled back at his friends. Then he turned and ran up the spiraling steps.

As Yusuke disappeared up the tower, the insects fell back and formed a circle around the rest of the Urameshi Team. They didn't try to attack just yet—perhaps sensing that the three of them were more dangerous together and realizing a strategy of some kind was needed. Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei moved until they were back-to-back, all facing outward, each one covering the others. Kuwabara raised his fists and tucked his head down like a boxer; Hiei held his sword at waist-height with both hands; Kurama lifted his own hands in a fluid judo stance.

All at once, the insects surged forward in a swarm. Then lightning flashed and the world became a cacophony of white light, bestial snarls, and battle cries from the three left behind.

* * *

><p>Yusuke wasn't sure how far he climbed before the circular steps finally opened up. Running into the tower room, Yusuke skidded to a stop and looked around. The large, round space he had entered was all gray walls and domed ceiling. All around the perimeter of the room, forming a gigantic circle, fires burned inside of basins similar to birdbaths in shape but made of gleaming gold. In the very center of the room, sitting in a golden throne with one leg crossed neatly over the other, Yusuke saw what he could only assume was his opponent.<p>

The last Beast didn't look like much, Yusuke decided. In fact, this one looked like the weakest of all. He appeared no older than Yusuke, and he had much the same build as him too—perhaps a bit taller but not nearly as muscular. His hair fell just above his shoulders in waves of bright gold, red strings braided neatly around two strands that framed either side of his face. He wore a sleeveless red tunic with golden trim over white linen pants, and over his shoulders was a diaphanous yellow cloth that floated around him like a cloud. On a pedestal next to him was a crystal sphere, and in his hands, pressed up to his lips, was the Makai Whistle.

"Put that thing down," Yusuke ground out.

The blond youth stopped playing. He lowered the flute and opened his eyes, peering at Yusuke for a moment before tipping his head to the side.

"You don't care for music?" he asked.

"Cut the crap. I didn't come here to listen to your cover of Swan Lake," Yusuke snapped.

"Prelude to Carnage, Fourth Movement," the blond youth corrected. "Oh, yes, I know why you're here," he continued, slinking out of his throne so he could stand on his feet. "The question is, do _you_ know?"

"Give me a break, Blondie. What are you trying to do, confuse me with dumb questions?" Yusuke scoffed. "I'm here for that Whistle."

"Wrong. Try again."

Yusuke twitched with annoyance, then spoke with as much stress as he possibly could: "I—am—here—for—the—Whist—le—so—hand—it—_o—ver._"

"You—are—wrong—a—gain—and—_e—nun—ci—at—ing_—does—not—change—that." Yusuke growled angrily, and the blond youth smiled. It was not a friendly smile by any means. "Come now. You enter the sacred Chamber of Suzaku and you don't even know what you have been sent here to do?"

"Suzaku, huh? That the name I get to write on your gravestone?" Yusuke asked.

"No, no," the youth waved his hand dismissively. "I am not Suzaku. _That _is Suzaku." He pointed one finger upward, and Yusuke looked up despite his better judgment. Near the ceiling, sitting on a perch, was something that from far away looked like a shriveled up wild turkey. Yusuke felt a bead of sweat roll down his temple.

"Uh… You're joking, right?"

The bird let out a faint croon and opened up its wings, making the shadows on the ceiling change like a black-and-white kaleidoscope.

"No, I am not joking. I am Kouryuu…" The blond youth held up his forearm, and the ugly, molting bird flew from its perch, making a circle of the room before coming down to land on Kouryuu's outstretched arm. "…Master of Maze Castle and of the Four Saint Beasts."

* * *

><p><em><strong>If you would like to read the rest of the Yu Yu Hakusho Saisei Project, please PM me so I can give you the address of the official site. This is where I will be updating the series from now on. It also has stories from the Saisei series that aren't available on Fanfiction . net.<strong>  
><em>


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